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Bourmont to Domremy 





































Ruth Visits 
Margot 

A LITTLE FRENCH GIRL 




by 

ROY A. KEECH 


Illustrated by Helene Carter 


A JUNIOR PRESS BOOK 

albert’Ywhitman 
& CO- 

CHICAGO 
















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Copyright 1934 
By Albert Whitman & Co. 


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Printed in the U.S.A. 


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TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Page 

Chapter 1—Margot Pucelle.11 

Chapter 2—A Double Surprise .... 20 

Chapter 3—Margot and the Prince ... 30 

Chapter 4—Margot in Domremy ... 48 

Chapter 5—Margot Hears the Story of the 

Maid.55 

Chapter 6—Ruth ..73 

Chapter 7—Ruth and Margot at Mentone 78 
Chapter 8—The Strange Legend of Gar- 

avan.98 

Chapter 9—On to Monaco and Monte Carlo 108 
Chapter 10—Adventures in Nice .... 119 

Chapter 11—The Girls See Paris .... 129 

Chapter 12—Sight Seeing and Shopping in 

Paris.143 

Chapter 13—In Which They Go to Vincennes 158 
Chapter 14—Versailles—Where History Has 

Been Made.166 

Chapter 15—Ruth and Margot Visit Void . 173 

Chapter 16—More Adventures .... 184 

Chapter 17—The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 197 










LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Bourmont to Domremy. Frontispiece 

Margot and Private Kenworthy.11 

Margot’s home.20 

On the way to Neufchateau.30 

The chateau stood on top of a hill.37 

Joan of Arc’s home and church in Domremy ... 48 

They arrived in Rheims and Charles was crowned . 55 
Joan and the knights were invited to the castle . . 61 
Margot, Ruth, and Private Kenworthy .... 73 

Old Mentone . 78 

Pont Saint-Louis. The bridge between France and 
Italy.98 

The old city of Monaco.108 

Monte Carlo and palace of the Prince of Monaco . . Ill 

Nice is on the pretty Bay of Angels.119 

Arch of Triumph and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 129 

The lie de la Cite in the Seine.143 

They took the steamer back.158 

The beautiful gardens of Versailles.166 

Margot and Ruth in Void.173 

The castles at Vaucouleurs.184 

Each barge has a family living aboard .... 189 

Farewell to France.197 

















MARGOT P U C E L L E 



Margot and Private Kenworthy 


Chapter 1 

ACK IN 1918 Margot Pucelle was a little 
girl, just nine years old. France was then full of 
American soldiers, and the Great War was still in 
progress. These Americans loved the French chil¬ 



li 











12 


Ruth Visits Margot 


dren, who made them think of their own little girls 
and boys at home. And the French children loved 
the American soldats because they were lonesome 
for their own brothers and fathers who had been 
sent to the front. Besides, the Americans usually 
had chewing-gum and candy in their pockets! 
Sometimes these friendly men from across the sea 
romped and played with them. And it was really 
very funny to hear the way some of them talked 
French. 

Margot’s family were of the bourgeois class, 
which in France means the shop-keepers and small 
manufacturers. While her father was alive the 
family had spent two years in England, and 
Margot had gone to school in London; so she spoke 
English quite well. Now she lived alone with her 
mother in the pretty hill-village of Bourmont, in 
the northeastern part of France. 

Margot was a bright, friendly little girl, with 
dark brown curls and big gray eyes. Among all 
the American soldiers whom she had come to know, 
in the military camp at the bottom of the big hill, 
her favorite was Private John Kenworthy. He 
loved her, too, because he had a little girl of his 
own about Margot’s age. 


Margot Pucelle 


13 


On pleasant sunny afternoons, when Private 
Kenworthy was off duty, the two friends often 
went for long 1 walks together. They picked flowers 
or explored the old ruins that lay on one side of the 
hill. Years and years before, Bourmont had had 
a great big stone wall around it to protect its 
people from their enemies. Parts of this wall still 
remained, though by now the village people had 
forgotten their history, and just called them “the 
ruins.” 

Sometimes Margot and her friend climbed to the 
roof of the big church tower. From this height the 
little village seemed to be piled up, tier upon tier 
of old stone houses with red tile roofs, with the big 
church perched on top of it all, like a crown. They 
could look down on grain fields, hop fields, and 
meadows; freshly plowed pieces of ground spread 
out before them for a great distance east, south, 
and west, with a big stretch of green forest to the 
north. The sight always reminded Margot of her 
grandmother’s patchwork quilt. A little to the 
west the River Meuse flowed north toward Bel¬ 
gium. Roads strung out like long white ribbons, 
and several other villages could be seen in the 
distance. 


14 


Ruth Visits Margot 


On chilly evenings Margot, her mother, and 
Private Kenworthy sat in front of the great big 
fireplace with its tiny fire, while they talked and 
told stories. Madame Pucelle always made drip 
coffee and served dainty little cakes, for she soon 
learned that the soldier loved these sweetmeats. 

Then, one day, Madame Pucelle asked Private 
Kenworthy if he would take Margot to another 
village to get some special colored thread and 
other things that she needed. This village was 
about five kilometers distant; that is, about three 
miles. He was delighted with the idea of the long 
walk, and the prospect of the jaunt pleased 
Margot, too. 

So the following Sunday the two started early 
in the afternoon. Three miles each way might be 
a long walk for a little American girl, but French 
children are used to much walking. They really 
enjoy the fun of it. Margot’s mother waved them 
a farewell as they started down the steep hill, fol¬ 
lowing the main road that led out of the village. 
A little farther on they turned to the right and 
went along a dirt road past the American soldiers’ 
camp and between small farms. 

In France every farm has, somewhere on it, a 


Margot Pucelle 


15 


tiny stone house just large enough for a big dog 
to turn around in, where the farmer can eat his 
lunch on bad days and where he can take shelter 
in case of a sudden storm. Farmers in that part of 
France do not live on their farms, but stay in the 
villages, which are sometimes several miles from 
their fields. They go to their farms early each 
morning and return about sunset. 

Beyond the farms, Margot and Private Ken¬ 
worthy entered a great, thick wood. Margot 
walked very close to her friend now, for she had 
heard of the wild animals that lived among the big 
trees. The worst of these were the wild boars. 

After passing through the forest they came to a 
place where the River Meuse was overflowing its 
banks and flooding the road for a long way. 
Margot saw the water in front of them and gave 
a cry of dismay. 

“Now, what can we do?” she asked ruefully. 
“Isn’t that horrid! We shall have to go back home 
without getting, the things Mother wanted.” 

“Not so fast!” was the smiling reply. “We 
mustn’t give up yet. That water can’t be deep.” 

“But it is too deep for me to wade, and I am 
afraid of it!” She shivered as she spoke. 


16 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“It’s not too deep for me, though,” Private Ken¬ 
worthy laughed. “You wouldn’t be afraid if I car¬ 
ried you, would you?” 

“Oh, you couldn’t do that!” exclaimed Margot. 
“I’m very heavy, you know.” 

“Don’t worry about that. Here—you hold the 
basket, and put your other arm around my neck. 
I’ll show you how we’ll get across!” 

Margot obeyed, and was lifted in his strong 
arms. Splash, splash, splash, he went through the 
water. At first Margot was uneasy, but in a mo¬ 
ment she began to smile and enjoy her ride. And 
before they reached the other side she was laugh¬ 
ing and enjoying herself thoroughly. When her 
friend put her down on her feet again, Margot 
was rumpled but quite dry. He was wet to the 
knees. 

“That was just like being rescued by a fairy 
prince,” Margot smiled up at him. 

“More like a barnyard duck,” he grinned. “Who 
ever heard of a prince being in a muddy uniform 
that doesn’t even fit?” At this Margot laughed, 
too. 

As they walked along, the water in the soldier’s 
shoes went slosh, slosh, until it all drained out. 


Margot Pucelle 


17 


The village to which they were going was not 
far now, and soon they were walking down the one 
cobblestone street. Two or three dogs ran out and 
barked at them, but Margot was not afraid of 
them, for she was holding the hand of her big 
friend. 

As soon as they had finished their marketing 
they started home. Private Kenworthy carried 
the basket. When they came to the flooded place 
in the road the water was much deeper than be¬ 
fore. So Private Kenworthy put the basket down, 
picked Margot up, and waded in. She shivered and 
squealed, but the water rippled harmlessly against 
his knees, and he soon put her down safe and dry 
on the other side. Then he went back for the 
basket. 

Suddenly to their ears came a soft purring, 
which slowly grew to a roar. 

“Is that a German plane?” queried Margot. 

“Yes,” answered her friend, “that’s a ‘Jerry,’ all 
right!” “Jerry” was the name that American sol¬ 
diers gave to German airplanes. “I can tell by the 
sound of the motor. Come on, quickly! We’d 
better get out of sight. Here, give me your hand.” 

They ran to one of the little stone huts in the 


18 


Ruth Visits Margot 


corner of a field, pulled open the door, and popped 
in. 

“He is going right toward Bourmont!” Margot 
cried in alarm. 

“And toward the camp, too,” answered Private 
Kenworthy, peeping out, “but he hasn’t got there 
yet, little sister. Look!” He opened the small door 
wider. As he pointed she saw what he meant. High 
in the sky, from the west, came two more planes 
swooping towards the “Jerry.” Nearer and nearer 
they came. 

“Are they Germans, too?” she asked, with grow¬ 
ing excitement. 

“No, I think they’re French. Listen!” 

And above the sound of the three airplane 
motors they heard the quick rat-tat-tat-tat of the 
machine guns on the French planes. With a sudden 
swoop the “Jerry” turned and headed for the 
north, the two French planes in swift pursuit, 
firing steadily as they chased. Presently all three 
were out of sight over the northern horizon. 

“Well, that’s that!” chuckled her companion. 
“Your home is safe now, Margot.” 

They started on again, and soon they came to 
the long, steep Bourmont hill. Up they went, puff. 


Margot Pucelle 


19 


puff, puff, all the way to Margot’s house. And 
when Madame Pucelle heard of their adventure, 
she was very glad to see her little girl safe home 
again. 

In answer to her invitation to him to come in 
and rest, Private Kenworthy replied that he wasn’t 
a bit tired but that he would come in and sit down, 
anyhow, for a little while, so that he could finish 
telling Margot something that she had asked 
about on their trip. She had wanted to know what 
work he did in the American Army, and also what 
he had done in America before the War. 

Now he told them that before he entered the 
service he had been a milk tester, and that he 
had grown so interested in chemistry, especially 
laboratory work, that when he enlisted he had 
asked to be given something of the same kind to 
do in France. A year or so ago, therefore, when 
he came over, he had been given special training 
for work in hospital laboratories, and he had been 
doing this in yarious army hospitals most of the 
time since. Of course, Margot could not under¬ 
stand exactly what it was that he did, but her 
mother was very much interested. 


A DOUBLE SURPRISE 



Margot’s home 


Chapter 2 

one November morning—it hap¬ 
pened to be November eleventh—Margot was 
pleased to see Private Kenworthy coming toward 
her house. She ran to open the door. 



20 
























A Double Surprise 


21 


“Well, well, well. No school today?” he asked, 
smiling down at her. 

‘No, not today; my governess had to go to Neuf- 
chateau, so I’m not doing any lessons this morn¬ 
ing. I’m so thrilled! This seems to be my lucky 
day—I feel as though something wonderful were 
going to happen.” 

“That sounds good to me,” he replied with a 
grin. “Well, to start things right, what do you say 
to asking your mother if you can go for a long 
walk with me? I asked the Captain, and he let 
me have the day off.” 

“Oh, goody!” Margot jumped up and down with 
joy. “Sit down, please, while I ask Mother. I am 
pretty sure that she will let me go.” 

A moment later she returned. “Mother says 
that if we wait a few minutes she will pack a lunch 
for us.” 

The soldier smiled again. “Surely, we can wait 
for that. Where would you like to go, Margot?” 

“Let us go to the old church ruins. It is only a 
few miles.” 

“Good! I’ve never seen them.” 

It was not long before Madame Pucelle came in 
from the kitchen with a basket. The sight of the 


22 


Ruth Visits Margot 


clean white cloth spread over the top made Mar¬ 
got and her friend hungry already. 

A few minutes later they started down the 
road that circles gently around the hill, but they 
branched off before arriving at the bottom. Now 
they followed a dirt road—just a wagon track— 
that led south, across the low, rolling hills. The 
old church, as Margot had called it, was several 
miles away. 

“The Captain often walks out in this direction,” 
Private Ken worthy told Margot, “but I have never 
been here before.” 

“The church is very, very old—older than any 
of the people can remember.” 

“But why is it away off here by itself?” he 
wanted to know. 

“Who can tell?” She shrugged her shoulders 
and spread her arms, as the French so often do. 

“I hear an airplane,” he said a little later, look¬ 
ing all around, “but I can’t see it.” The sound 
grew louder. 

Margot heard it, too, and shaded her eyes with 
her hands to look, peering in every direction. “It 
sounds very loud,” she admitted, “but where is 
it?” Louder and louder and louder grew the sound, 


A Double Surprise 


23 


until it became a roar. Margot became more and 
more puzzled. “Where is it?” 

Private Kenworthy was so busy looking for the 
airplane that he did not see where he was step¬ 
ping. He wandered from the path, then his toe 
tripped on a rock, and down on the ground he fell. 
“Ugh!” he grunted, as the breath was knocked 
out of him by the fall. Playfully rolling over on 
his back, he lay there a moment, grinning at 
Margot. 

“There’s your airplane!” he pointed. “Look, 
right straight over your head. See it?” 

“I cannot see it,” she replied, looking harder 
than ever. “Oh yes, I can—now. It looks as small 
as a mosquito. It must be up very high. But it is 
not moving.” 

“It’s moving fast enough, but it looks as though 
it weren’t, because it is traveling so high,” he ex¬ 
plained. 

“Is it Boche?” the girl asked, turning to him. 

“No; it may be American, British, French, or 
even Italian—but I’m sure it isn’t a German.” 

Margot sighed. “I wish the War were over!” 

“So does everybody else, my dear,” her friend 
rejoined gravely. “But when it does end and I go 


24 


Ruth Visits Margot 


home again, I shall surely miss you, little sister.” 

“How I wish that I could see America!” Margot 
sighed wistfully. “Do you suppose that I ever 
shall? Maybe Mother would take me, some time.” 

“Yes, that would be wonderful—perhaps it will 
happen. But look—the plane is out of sight al¬ 
ready.” He got to his feet again. 

They strolled on, watching for other airplanes. 
Many went over Bourmont every day, and if the 
pilots flew low enough, the soldiers and the 
French people could tell what country each one 
belonged to by the way it was painted. Most of 
these planes were American and French. 

Half an hour later Margot and her companion 
left the road and climbed another little hill. Here 
they found the old church, but it was only a mass 
of ruins—nothing more. The thick stone walls 
stood twenty feet high in places, and in others 
only ten feet or less. The windows had all been 
broken out long ago. The big, flat stone slabs that 
made up the floor were thickly covered with dust. 
The whole place had a look of great age and an air 
of solemn stillness. 

Private Kenworthy removed his overseas cap 
as they passed through the gaping hole that had 


25 


A Double Surprise 


once been the doorway. In spite of the dust on the 
floor, their footsteps sounded harsh and loud. The 
roof of this old building- had long since fallen in, 
and most of it had been removed by the people 
and used in the making of newer houses. The sun¬ 
light streamed in, but the south and west walls 
cast deep black shadows on the floor. 

Margot and her companion tiptoed about the 
ruins for a while, and then were glad to go back 
to the more pleasant outdoors. Here, close to the 
west wall, they found a spot shielded from the 
November wind by the towering wall and some 
wild bushes. The bright sun had warmed the 
ground, and on a small level spot Margot decided 
to spread the tablecloth. 

What a good lunch Madame Pucelle had packed 
for them! Cold chicken sandwiches, jelly sand¬ 
wiches, hard boiled eggs, tarts, some of the little 
cakes that she knew Private Kenworthy liked so 
well, and a bottle of sweet grape juice. And there 
were white napkins, plates, cups, knives, forks, 
and spoons for two. 

“Your mother certainly knows what’s good!” 
the soldier exclaimed, as Margot spread the food 
within reach of them both. 


26 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“Yes,” she replied, too busy eating to say any¬ 
thing more. 

“You know, Margot,” he finally spoke up, break¬ 
ing the silence, “I wish my little daughter were 
over here with us. What good times we three 
would have together!” 

“I should love that! She could live with Mother 
and me.” 

“You’re right, Margot, she could live with you. 
I think your mother would take her in.” 

“Of course, she would. Is she pretty, M’sieur 
Kenworthy?” 

“You bet she is; just as pretty and sweet and 
good as you are. What a great pair you two would 
make! Oh, I wish—but who knows? We’ll see.” 

Private Kenworthy had before often spoken to 
Margot about Ruth, the little daughter whom he 
had left at home when he came overseas. Today 
Margot wanted to hear more about her. 

“Well,” the man spoke thoughtfully, “of course, 
I think she’s just the greatest girl in the whole 
world. She’s about your size and age, with light 
golden hair in short curls. And she has a dimple 
in each cheek when she smiles. She’s a happy little 
girl, and loves her father very much. I think 


27 


A Double Surprise 


that’s about all that I can tell you about her, Mar¬ 
got, and I hope you’ll see her sometime.” 

“I know I shall love her!” 

“And she’ll love you. I have written her all 
about you, and what good times we’ll have to¬ 
gether. But let’s gather up these dishes. It’s about 
time to start back, don’t you think?” 

Margot and her friend walked back slowly, talk¬ 
ing of Ruth, and planning another trip together. 
On nearing Bourmont, they thought they heard a 
noise like loud shouting and the shooting of many 
guns. 

The girl looked at her friend very soberly. “Do 
you think the Germans have come?” 

“No danger of that now,” he assured her. “The 
Allies have been driving them back to their own 
border lately. No; it’s something else. Let’s hurry 
and see.” 

He took hold of her hand, and they walked 
faster. When they reached the edge of the village, 
it was easy to tell by the sound of the people’s 
voices that they were shouting for happiness. 
Above the voices continual gun shots sounded. 
Dogs barked, as though to add to the noise. An 
old man spied them coming. He ran to meet them. 


28 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“Vive V Amerique!” he shouted, pounding Pri¬ 
vate Kenworthy on the back and grasping his 
hand. “Finie la guerre! Finie la guerre!” And 
he went on to tell them that the Germans had 
asked for an armistice—an agreement to stop the 
fighting. 

“The War is over! The War is over!” Margot 
danced up and down. “Oh, M’sieur Kenworthy, the 
War is over. I knew something good was going 
to happen today!” 

By now they had reached Margot’s home. On 
the steps stood Madame Pucelle waiting for them, 
a happy smile on her face. 

“Well,” she greeted them, “I see that you have 
heard the great news. How happy all of us should 
feel today! Do come in, Monsieur Kenworthy, and 
have a cup of coffee with us, to celebrate the end 
of the War.” 

As the soldier sat with his friends, drinking his 
coffee, he began to talk about Ruth. “Now I can 
think about having her come over to France, 
though I don’t know exactly how it can be man¬ 
aged. I shall have to cable to my sister and find 
out whether she could bring Ruth.” 

“Oh, will you?” Margot asked excitedly. “She 


A Double Surprise 


29 


could come and live with us, couldn’t she, Mother? 
I should so love to have her here. We could have 
such good times together!” 

“Of course she could stay here—and her aunt, 
too, if both of them come. But,” she went on, with 
a twinkle in her eye, “you will not be M’sieur Ken- 
worthy’s little girl any longer, after that, you 
know!” 

Margot turned and looked anxiously at her 
friend, and then was relieved to see that he was 
grinning, as he always did when there was some 
joke between them. 

“Cheer up, Margot,” he assured her. “Your 
mother doesn’t really mean that. She knows there 
will always be room in my heart for you!” He 
put his arm around her and drew her close. 

“Well,” he said, getting to his feet, “we’ll none 
of us ever forget this day, will we? Armistice Day 
—November eleventh, 1918. It’s a wonderful thing 
to realize that this long war is over at last. Now 
I must go and see about cabling to my sister. If 
she cannot get away herself, it may be possible to 
send Ruth over alone. I shouldn’t wonder if that 
could be done safely now. And I do want to see 
my little girl, and show her this country of yours!” 


MARGOT AND THE PRINCE 



On the way to Neuf chateau 


Chapter 3 

OT LONG after their visit to the ruined 
and the joyful surprise of the Armistice, 
Margot awoke one Sunday morning and rolled 
quickly out of her high bed. After bathing, she 



30 














Margot and the Prince 


31 


put on her best dress to attend the early morning 
church service and be all ready when Private 
Kenworthy called for her. 

She wore a white linen dress that was much 
shorter than most American girls nine years of 
age wear, white socks that reached only to her 
ankles, and a heavy white wool coat that reached 
to her knees. Her shoes were thick and heavy, 
because of the mud that she would probably find. 
When Private Kenworthy saw her that morning, 
he thought she looked prettier than ever before. 

This was the day that she was to go with him to 
Domremy, another French village. Hundreds of 
years ago Domremy was the home of Joan of Arc, 
one of the most famous girls in all history. 

At the gave, or railway station, he bought sec¬ 
ond-class tickets; as he said, third-class seats were 
not good enough for Margot, and first-class tick¬ 
ets were not good for his pocket-book! 

The first- and second-class compartments had 
cushioned seats, were kept cleaner, and usually 
were not so crowded as the third class. The French 
railway cars, on most lines, were much smaller 
than American coaches and were divided into com¬ 
partments, or small rooms. 


32 


Ruth Visits Margot 


In each compartment the seats faced each other 
and extended across the car, so that the people sat 
facing each other, forward or backward. There 
was no aisle through the center, but on the outside 
a step ran the full length of each side of the car, 
and the compartment doors opened on to these two 
long platform-like steps. The guard (or con¬ 
ductor) walked along this narrow platform, from 
which he could unlock the doors, step into the com¬ 
partments, and collect the tickets. 

In the same compartment with Margot and 
Private Kenworthy were two French army officers, 
a Belgian officer, two prosperous-looking business 
men, and a woman, so that the eight seats or 
“places” in the compartment were all taken. 

The officers were eating a late breakfast. Each 
had open on the seat beside him a small, square 
traveling-bag of canvas, with a shoulder-strap by 
which he could carry it with him. With large 
pocket-knives they carved thick slices from their 
loaves of dark “war bread,” for wheat to make 
white bread was scarce during the Great War. 
They spread these slices with soft white French 
cheese, called fromage. They made many motions 
with their hands as they talked, and their talk was, 


Margot and the Prince 


33 


of course, carried on in French, and naturally was 
for the most part about the War. Guerre, soldats, 
Americain, Beige, and Boche were among the 
words that Private Kenworthy caught. 

The business men read newspapers and some¬ 
times added a few words to the general talk. 
Margot’s friend, being a private, was left out of 
the conversation, which was as well, for he would 
have needed an interpreter. The woman was read¬ 
ing a book. Margot and her friend were left free 
to spend most of their time looking out of the win¬ 
dow at the beautiful fields and the gray stone 
villages. 

On reaching Neufchateau, they walked out of 
town to the north and followed the main road. 
Domremy was still about five miles away and, to 
save time, they hoped to get a ride. 

Soon after the town was left behind they met 
several women and old men. Each carried a large 
bundle of long sticks. In France hardly a bit of 
the tree cut down is wasted. For the French long 
ago learned to save their forests, and whenever a 
tree is cut down one must be planted in its place. 

Instead of piling the brush and burning it, as 
we do, they cut it into sticks about three feet long 


34 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and tie it in bundles, as our farmers tie their corn¬ 
stalks. These bundles are dried until the sticks 
are ready to burn. This is the fuel that the peasants 
use in their big fireplaces. But their fires do not 
compare in size with their hearths, which were 
built in days when wood was not so scarce as it is 
now. 

Margot and her escort had walked about a kilo¬ 
meter, when they were overtaken by a camion, or 
French army motor truck. Private Kenworthy 
hailed it and Margot spoke to the driver. 

“Out, oui, mademoiselle; oui, m’sieur. Tres bein!” 
was the reply; all of which meant that the driver 
was saying “yes” as politely as he knew how to 
their request that they be allowed to ride on the 
camion. 

Margot sat between the driver and his orderly, 
or helper. Her friend stood on the running-board. 
It was a wild ride, for the French are not slow 
drivers, even when they run heavy army trucks. 

About halfway between Neufchateau and Dom- 
remy the truck stopped. Engine trouble, as the 
driver explained. 

“Please ask them if I can do anything to help, 
Margot,” said Private Kenworthy. 


Margot and the Prince 


35 


Margot spoke a few words to the men, and they 
replied pleasantly. 

“They say, ‘No, thank you,’ and we are very wel¬ 
come to the ride.” 

So the friends started afoot again in the direc¬ 
tion of their goal. 

“Oh, look!” pointed Margot after they had 
walked a short distance. 

“Isn’t that a wonderful chateau!” he exclaimed. 
“A regular old castle, such as one reads about in 
stories when the beautiful princess is rescued by 
a fairy prince. It’s the largest and most beautiful 
one I have ever seen. I should like to get a closer 
view, wouldn’t you, Margot?” 

“Let’s go there, M’sieur Kenworthy,” she 
pleaded. 

He looked at his watch. “Well, we can’t spend 
our time much better than in getting a closer view 
of that wonderful old castle.” 

The chateau or castle was about a kilometer 
from the main road. Margot and her friend 
trudged across the fields, and came to a clean little 
village at the bottom of the hill. Next they reached 
a great big park which must have contained a hun¬ 
dred or more acres and quite surrounded the 


36 


Ruth Visits Margot 


castle. Private roads, wide and well made, wound 
through well-kept greensward with giant elms and 
gnarled old oaks rising on both sides. It was a 
truly majestic setting for the old, gray, ivy-grown 
building. 

“If I only had a camera,” he murmured, pointing, 
“what a beautiful picture that would make!” 

The chateau stood on top of a hill. Its design 
and evident age showed clearly that it had been 
built hundreds of years ago in the time that is 
called the Middle Ages. It had many towers and 
turrets, and was massive, with great oaken doors 
which, when opened, would allow a company of 
soldiers to march in, eight abreast; or even a big 
load of hay could have been driven in without 
brushing the driver from the top. 

“What are all of those little and big holes in the 
towers for, M’sieur Kenworthy?” asked Margot. 
“They are not windows, for there are more on the 
roof.” 

“Those are called embrasures, and the soldiers 
used to shoot through them,” he explained. “This 
castle must have been built after cannon were in¬ 
vented, because those large holes are cannon em¬ 
brasures, or loop-holes.” 



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Margot and the Prince 


39 


“When were cannon first used?” 

“Well,” he replied, “I’m not sure, but I think the 
first record we have of their use in Europe was at 
the Battle of Crecy, in 1346. That was during the 
Hundred Years’ War between France and England 
—the war in which Joan of Arc took such a noble 
part.” 

“And were those .little holes used to shoot rifles 
through?” 

“No,” he corrected, “those small embrasures 
were for the archers to shoot their arrows through. 
You see, cannon were used many years earlier 
than rifles or muskets.” 

They walked up to one of the great doors and he 
grasped the big wrought-iron knocker. 

“Shall I, Margot?” 

“Oooh, I dare you!” 

“Why not?” he replied, smiling. “We are tres¬ 
passing, anyway, and it is only fair to let them 
know it.” 

Rap, rap, rap, went the heavy hammer. No re¬ 
sponse. Rap , rap, rap. Still no answer. 

“Doesn’t seem to be any one at home,” he sug¬ 
gested. 

“Let’s try another door,” ventured Margot. “I 


40 


Ruth Visits Margot 


certainly hope they will not be angry at us.” 

They tried several doors on the east side, but no 
one answered their knocking. Then they came to 
a more modern addition on the north end of the 
castle. This part alone was larger than many an 
American house. The doors in it were much 
smaller than those in the main part of the building. 
Private Kenworthy rapped on several, but with 
the same results as before. 

They then walked around to the west side of the 
main building, where they found a small garden 
with lovely roses and other flowers still in bloom. 
Along the southern wing, they saw a French 
soldier on guard, slowly walking his post with 
shouldered rifle, his sky-blue uniform picturesque 
against the dull gray background of the huge 
walls. Margot politely asked him if she and her 
American friend could enter the chateau to look 
about. 

“Oui, out, ici,” he replied; which sounded like 
“we, we, eesee,” and meant “Yes, yes, here.” 

They thanked him and stepped through the door¬ 
way into a vast kitchen where French army cooks 
were preparing a meal for the soldiers who were 
stationed there. 


Margot and the Prince 


41 


“This is no place for two people as hungry as 
we,” exclaimed Private Kenworthy. “Let’s get out 
of here!” And. he smiled at little Margot. 

“It does make me hungrier,” she admitted, “and 
it isn’t a bit interesting, anyway.” 

“Le prince, le prince,” commented the guard with 
a gesture as they came out of the huge kitchen. 

Nearby they saw a tall, straight, fine-looking 
man with iron-gray hair and a Van Dyck beard. 
He carried a walking stick and wore a light busi¬ 
ness suit. A beautiful brown collie romped about 
him as he walked. The man had turned at the 
soldier’s words, and now approached slowly with 
the dog at his heels. As he came up to them he re¬ 
moved his hat. Private Kenworthy, not knowing 
that the man was a French army officer, bowed, 
but did not salute. 

Margot hurriedly began to explain their pres¬ 
ence. 

The stranger stopped her. “Possibly your Amer¬ 
ican friend does not understand French so well as 
we,” he said in perfect English, smiling kindly. 

“Thank you, sir,” said the American, “I am glad 
that you speak English—and Margot understands 
it, too. We saw your chateau from the main road 


42 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and came to get a closer view. I hope that we’re 
not intruding.” 

“Not at all, M’sieur,” replied the owner. “My 
grandmother was an American and I am very 
proud of it. Americans are always welcome here.” 
Then he turned to Margot. “Well, my little friend, 
how do you like my home?” 

“Oh, but it is beautiful, M’sieur!” answered 
Margot enthusiastically. 

“Would you care to come in and look around?” 
he asked, looking from one to the other. 

“Oh, thank you, M’sieur le Prince!” exclaimed 
Margot. 

“That would be wonderful, sir,” said Private 
Kenworthy. “But won’t it be too much trouble?” 

“Not at all,” the prince insisted. “It will be a 
pleasure, I assure you.” 

He led them toward the north wing. “The main 
part of the chateau dates from the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury,” he said, “but this newer part was built about 
three hundred years later.” 

He produced a key, opened the door, and stepped 
back for them to walk before him. 

Margot and her friend saw beautiful polished 
floors partly covered with handsome rugs. They 


Margot and the Prince 


43 


hesitated and would have withdrawn, for their 
shoes were muddy, and his were of the heavy, hob¬ 
nailed kind that private soldiers wore in France. 

“Do go in,” urged the prince, motioning them to 
enter. “Do not worry about the floors. They will 
be repolished when I can get men to do it for me.” 

He followed them into a large room. Before a 
great marble fireplace was a divan, on which lay 
an officer’s sky-blue military overcoat and cavalry 
saber. “I must apologize for the condition of my 
quarters,” the prince explained. “Most of the ser¬ 
vants are in the service.” 

They walked slowly from room to room. A tiger- 
skin rug lay before a hearth; other costly rugs 
were spread about; a magnificent statue of Joan 
of Arc stood in a corner; and beautiful paintings 
adorned the walls. 

The prince went over to a window on the west 
side. “From here, on a clear day,” he explained, 
drawing back the curtain, “one can see twenty- 
two villages. Unfortunately, it is hazy today, so 
you can see only eight or ten. If you will come 
with me now, I think that I can show you some¬ 
thing of more interest.” 

He led the way outside and through the garden 


44 


Ruth Visits Margot 


to a large door in the main part of the building. 
They stepped into the private chapel. The floor 
and walls were stone, and the ceiling was black¬ 
ened by the candles and incense of centuries. 
Around the walls were niches holding the images 
of saints. On long staffs, slanting out from the 
walls, hung tattered silk pennons and banners. 
The pews were of heavy oak. On the altar were 
candlesticks and a crucifix. Before the altar, in 
the chancel floor, there were two large, loose flag¬ 
stones, each with an iron ring set in it. 

“Many of my ancestors rest in the vault beneath 
those stones,” the prince explained. 

The two visitors gazed about them in wonder. 
“How beautiful!” exclaimed Margot. 

“Wonderful indeed,” rejoined the American, 
who was looking at the old battle flags and some 
pieces of ancient armor. “It takes one back to the 
days of chivalry, when knights and barons lived 
here.” 

“Yes,” answered the owner, “these are all relics 
of my family. This chapel is sacred to me, because 
our family has worshiped here for hundreds of 
years.” 

At last the prince walked with them to the gar- 


Margot and the Prince 


45 


den gate, shook hands twice with each of his visi¬ 
tors, and invited them to call again. He raised his 
hat to little Margot. 

“Isn’t he nice!” she exclaimed after they were 
out of hearing. 

“He certainly is,” agreed her friend. 

“The soldier called him a prince. Are there any 
princes nowadays?” 

“Oh, yes—a few. I can see why you ask, Margot. 
You are remembering that France has been a re¬ 
public for a long time now, and that there is no 
royal family any more. No kings or queens—only 
a President. But even in the old times the men 
who held the rank of prince in France didn’t have 
to be members of the king’s family; they were 
great nobles in their own right. And there are a 
good many left—I don’t know how many—living 
on their old family estates, like the man who has 
just been so kind to us.” 

“I see,” Margot replied. “But look. What is this 
little cottage that we are coming to?” 

“The gate-keeper’s lodge, I imagine. There is 
one on nearly every big estate. I wonder whether 
the gate-keeper’s wife could give us something to 
eat. Suppose you run in and ask her.” 


46 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Margot followed her friend’s suggestion and 
they were soon seated before the hearth. The old 
housewife talked to Margot as she prepared the 
meal, asking questions and telling her about le 
prince. To her he was evidently the greatest man 
that ever lived. Their conversation was in French 
and Private Kenworthy could catch only a little 
of it, but Margot translated the most interesting 
parts for him. 

“She says that the prince really is descended 
from one of the French kings long ago. He is a 
colonel in the cavalry.” 

“Humm, I wonder what the men at camp will 
say when I tell them I have been hobnobbing with 
nobility and a colonel,—and that I didn’t salute! 
Oh, well, they probably won’t believe me anyway.” 

“And,” added Margot, “she says that he treats 
all Americans alike, whether they are officers, 
soldiers, or nurses, and is very kind to all the poor 
people in his village. They all love him.” 

After they had finished their meal, which was a 
very good one of tender chicken, potatoes fried in 
a way that the soldier had never seen before, eggs, 
dark bread, and soft white cheese. There was drip 
coffee for him (with hot milk added instead of 


Margot and the Prince 


47 


cream), and milk for Margot. After he had paid 
the woman, they said good-bye and started across 
the fields to the main road. Following this road for 
some distance between rows of tall poplar trees, 
they were soon overtaken by a British army truck, 
or lorry. It stopped without being hailed, and the 
driver asked them where they were going. 

“To Domremy.” 

“Hop aboard then, Sammy,” said the English 
soldier. “Sammy” was the name by which the 
British soldiers called their American brothers-in- 
arms, just as British soldiers are often called 
“Tommies.” And so they were off toward their 
Domremy adventure. 


MARGOT IN DOMREMY 



Joan of Arc’s home and church in Domremy 


Chapter 4 

UMBLING along at high speed, Margot 
and Private Ken worthy soon reached the village 
of Domremy. They climbed down from the truck 
and thanked the “Tommy” for the ride. 

48 



















Margot in Domremy 


49 


This old village, which lies in the Department of 
Vosges in eastern France, has long been dear to 
everybody who studies French history. To the 
French themselves it is a sacred spot, because here 
Joan of Arc was born, more than five hundred 
years ago, and here she spent her girlhood until 
she went forth from Domremy to offer herself as 
the savior of her people. All French children, of 
course, learn about Joan from their earliest school¬ 
days, but not many of them have the chance that 
the American soldier’s little friend had to go to 
Domremy and visit the places connected with their 
national heroine. 

Already Margot had begged Private Kenworthy 
to tell her the story in his own words, and he had 
promised to do so later. “After we see Domremy,” 
he had said. “You and I will look at everything 
that is to be seen there, and then, when we are 
tired, we can sit down and I will tell you the story 
as I learned it in America, and how it happened 
that Joan went" out and led the armies of the 
French in the war with England.” 

So here they were, now. Private Kenworthy 
knew that what they wanted to see was Joan’s 
birthplace, the old church where she worshiped, 


50 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and the new church or Basilica that has been 
erected in our own time. So he led Margot first to 
the old church—a small stone building with a red 
tile roof. Here they were shown the font at which, 
it is believed, the Maid was baptized as a baby. 
Near the church, and set back from the road, is the 
house of Joan’s family, the Dares; for it was only 
in after-years that people took to spelling her 
name “d’Arc.” 

At once the visitors’ attention was attracted by 
the fine statue on its pedestal in the courtyard. It 
represents Joan as she is leaving her home, led by 
the Genius of France, who puts a sword into her 
hand. The house itself it a simple, rude building 
such as the peasants lived in during Joan’s day. 
A century ago it was bought by the French Gov¬ 
ernment, to be preserved as a national monument. 
Over the door — above which the roof slopes 
sharply from the left to the right side—is an arch 
bearing the royal arms of France, and also the 
coat-of-arms that the humble Dare family were 
allowed to use after the Maid’s death. 

When the two went inside, Private Kenworthy 
explained to Margot that it was not at all certain 
that the house had really looked this way during 


Margot in Domremy 


51 


Joan’s lifetime, or that the things that are now 
shown there are really what the guardians think 
them to be—the same furnishings that were used 
by her family when she lived there. But it was not 
hard for the two friends to imagine that those 
smoke-blackened beams overhead were quite old 
enough to have looked down on the little Joan’s 
cradle, or that these rooms were those in which she 
had grown to girlhood. They were told that the 
bed had been Joan’s, and were shown the room in 
which she was born—both being according to tra¬ 
dition only. 

“Where are we going now?” Margot asked as 
they came out into the sunshine again. 

“Next we must see the Basilica,” her companion 
replied. 

“What is a basilica, please?” 

“A big church, something like a cathedral. Your 
French word for it is basilique.” 

“Please, can’t we walk about the village a little 
before going there?” she begged. 

“Well, all right; but we haven’t much time to 
spare, you know.” 

It was not a remarkably attractive village. The 
streets were paved with cobblestones and were 


52 


Ruth Visits Margot 


none too clean. The houses were a rather dirty- 
white with red tile roofs. Most of them were small 
and square with no porches. In most cases the 
stable was connected with the house, at either the 
side or the rear, with a door leading from it into 
the kitchen. Living thus, the people could see and 
hear the cows and horses munching their hay in 
the next room. To Margot, who had not seen many 
peasants’ homes, it seemed that these people and 
their animals must be on very friendly terms. 

Not far away they saw clumps of trees and 
bushes, marking the banks of the River Meuse. 
Along the edge of the water a number of men and 
boys, most of them wearing long, blue peasants’ 
smocks, sat fishing. 

“But what are they fishing for?” asked Margot. 

“Just for fun,” he replied; “you have seen lots 
of people near your home fishing, haven’t you?” 

“Oh, yes!” 

“Did you ever see anybody catch a fish?” he 
asked, grinning. 

“Well—no,” she answered slowly. 

“Neither have I. I doubt if there are any fish 
left in this river. But those boys and men enjoy 
fishing there just the same!” 


Margot in Domremy 


53 


About three-quarters of a mile away, on a hill, 
they could see the slender golden spire of the 
Basilica — a majestic monument to the Maid 
erected in our own day. It was toward this church 
that they were now walking. Presently they 
passed a roadside crucifix or “Calvary”—a large 
cross with the Saviour’s body hanging on it, before 
which the devout often stopped to pray. For this 
road is a pilgrim route; over it every year travel 
thousands of Catholics and others to do honor to 
the Maid. 

The Basilica is built on the spot at which, accord¬ 
ing to tradition, Joan of Arc received her com¬ 
mands from Heaven to go to the help of her coun¬ 
try. In her time this hill was covered with a deep, 
dark forest, Le Bois Chenu, and here the young 
girl went to gather wild strawberries and to hunt 
for the fairies that she believed were in the forest. 
Most of the trees are gone now, and in the place 
of the once dense forest stands the Basilica, a rich 
and elaborate building. 

As the two friends drew nearer Margot cried 
out in wonder at the beautiful front walls—made 
of marble and blue granite—and rising high above 
them the graceful bell-tower with its delicate 


54 ,,,,,,,,, R^h ‘^ ar S ot 

spire. “Oh,” she cried, “it must be lovely inside! 
Hurry. Let’s go in.” 

Margot was right—there was much to see there 
that was beautiful; all around them were pictures, 
mosaics, statues, and rich decorations. Overhead 
the ceiling was painted a heavenly blue; and 
around the walls were a series of famous paintings 
representing scenes in the life of Joan of Arc by 
Boutet de Monvel. The little French girl went 
from one to the other of these with great interest, 
scarcely willing to spare a moment even to glance 
at the glorious stained glass windows that her 
companion was admiring. 

“Yes,” he said in answer to a question from her, 
“of course you don’t understand the details in 
those paintings yet, because you haven’t gone far 
enough in your history lessons to learn more than 
the outline of Joan’s story. But I promised to tell 
you all I know about it, and I’m going to do it now 
—as soon as we find a good place to sit down out¬ 
side. It happens that I have always been inter¬ 
ested in this part of French history and have read 
a good deal about it. And when I have told you her 
tale, it will be more real to you because of what 
you are seeing now in these pictures.” 


MARGOT HEARS THE STORY 
OF THE MAID 



They arrived in Rheims and Charles was crowned 


Chapter 5 

” he began when they had found a 
grassy bank where they could sit comfortably, “we 
have just seen the house where Joan of Arc—or 



55 































56 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Jeanne d’Arc—lived. She was born in 1412, and her 
family were the simplest kind of peasants. As she 
grew up, she came to learn that her country was at 
war with the English, whose king considered that 
through his ancestors he had a claim on a large 
part of France—several of the large provinces. 
You have heard of the Hundred Years’ War, 
haven’t you? Well, that was the war. It had begun 
in 1337 and had been going on ever since, with 
some interruptions. For instance, there had been 
a time when a terrible plague raged over Europe, 
and while that lasted nobody bothered about fight¬ 
ing. 

“But by the time that we are talking about, the 
English had won so much success and had so large 
a part of the country in their possession, that the 
French were very much worried. Things were 
made much harder, too, because there was really 
no French king at the time; young Charles VII 
had never been crowned. But even if he had been 
it wouldn’t have done much good—he was such a 
coward, and so weak-willed, and so easily influ¬ 
enced by bad advisors; not at all the sort who could 
have led his soldiers to victory against the invad¬ 
ing English.” 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


57 


“But were the English bad people?” asked 
Margot. 

“Probably no worse than any people are when 
they go to war to conquer another people,” he re¬ 
plied. “They had to fight because their king made 
them, I suppose. And he wanted all the land he 
could get in France. Well, as little Joan grew older 
she did mostly what the other little girls in Dom- 
remy did—helped her mother with the housework, 
learned to sew and knit, and tended her father’s 
sheep up on that hillside where the Basilica is now. 
She believed in fairies, and used to go into the 
wood to try to find them. She was a sweet and good 
child and everybody loved her. 

“One day, when she was thirteen years old, she 
was watching the sheep. And suddenly she had 
what is called a ‘vision.’ It seemed to her that 
three angels appeared before her and spoke to her. 
She was dazzled, for there was a heavenly light all 
about the figures, and when they spoke to her she 
was frightened.- But she knew that it must be all 
right, since angels are sent by God. But she said 
nothing about her vision when she got home. It 
wasn’t until the angels had come to her again and 
again that she made up her mind to tell her father 


58 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and mother what it was that she was being told to 
do. 

“It was an astonishing and frightening thing 
that her angels commanded—nothing less than 
that she—humble little Joan of Arc—should go 
forth and seek the king and tell him that she must 
be put at the head of his army! That with God’s 
help she would be able to lead the French to 
victory! 

“She was seventeen before she told her parents 
of this. And when she did, they thought she was 
losing her mind. What she begged them to let her 
do was to go to Vaucouleurs and ask the governor 
there to send her to the king. Her parents would 
not hear of it. But finally they consented to let her 
go and visit her uncle at Neufchateau, and see 
whether he would help her. There, though her 
uncle at first scolded her and wouldn’t believe her 
story, she did in the end persuade him to take her 
to the governor at Vaucouleurs. 

“When they called upon the governor he was 
eating dinner with two knights. You can imagine 
their surprise when Joan told them that she had 
been chosen to drive the English out of France! 
She asked the governor to send her to the king. 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid- 


59 


His Excellency was surprised when she predicted 
that, on a certain day, and at a certain place, the 
French would again be defeated in a big battle. 
Her ‘voices’ had told her this.” 

“Oh, but wasn’t she afraid of the governor and 
the knights?” Margot broke in. 

“No. If she felt so confident of her mission that 
she knew she would not be afraid of the king, why 
should any men of lower rank frighten her? Any¬ 
way, the governor told her to wait, and if her 
prophecy came true he would help her. Sure 
enough, on the day and at the very place she had 
said, what was called the Battle of Herrings was 
fought. And the French lost! Then the governor 
was convinced. 

“The two knights offered to take Joan to the 
king, and the governor promised to send some 
soldiers with them. The people of Vaucouleurs 
raised money and bought Joan a horse, with a 
saddle and a bridle. The governor had a fine suit 
of armor made and even gave her his own sword. 

“Can’t you picture to yourself this beautiful girl 
dressed as a young knight, wearing her shining 
armor, and seated on her big Belgian horse? Oh, 
she was the very spirit of France in the flesh! 


60 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“So with a small bodyguard, including the two 
knights, she started on the long ride to Chinon, 
where the king was. 

“She and some of the others had never ridden 
before, but they learned fast. They traveled for 
five or six nights—it was safer to ride at night, 
since the country was full of the enemy. Several 
times, even then, they ran into parties of English 
and Burgundians and had to do some fighting.” 

“Who were the Burgundians?” Margot asked. 

“Well, they were French, of course, because they 
came from the province called Burgundy; but they 
were not loyal to the French king. They were plot¬ 
ting against him, and had joined with the English 
to prevent Charles from being crowned and to help 
the English king to conquer all of France. That is, 
they were traitors to their own country. 

“When Joan and her men reached Chinon she 
found it hard to get permission to see the king. 
Her knights had to try for several days before 
they could persuade him to hear what she had to 
tell him. 

“At last, however, Joan and the knights were 
invited to the castle. They arrived in the midst of 
a big reception,” 


































Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


63 


“What’s a reception?” asked Margot. 

“A reception,” he explained, “is a kind of party 
that is given to welcome some one, in order to get 
acquainted. But the king would not believe the 
story that Joan was being directed by God and His 
angels, and he decided that he would test her. He 
would mislead her by changing clothes with one of 
the courtiers. The Maid was ushered into the big 
hall, led up to the throne, and there presented to 
the man who was posing in the king’s clothes. 
Now, she had never seen the real king—not even 
a picture of him. But the instant that she saw the 
man she knew by instinct, or by Divine guidance, 
that this was not the king. So she turned away and 
looked about her. Presently she spied the real 
king standing among his courtiers. She ran and 
threw herself on her knees before him, addressing 
him as her ‘gentle Dauphin,’ for she would not 
consider him as the king until after he should be 
properly crowned.” 

Margot interrupted again. “Wasn’t a Dauphin 
always the eldest son of any French king?” she 
asked. “Or his grandson, or anybody that—I don’t 
know how to express it exactly—” 

“You mean that the heir to the throne was called 


64 


Ruth Visits Margot 


the Dauphin? Yes; and in this case, Charles had 
been the Dauphin until his father, Charles VI, 
died a few years before this. But he had not yet 
been crowned, and so Joan called him ‘Dauphin.’ 

“He tested her by saying that she was mistaken 
—that that was Charles, on the throne. But she 
answered that she knew he was her ‘gracious 
liege.’ At this, the king admitted she was right, 
and ordered her to rise. He asked her who she was 
and what she wanted. 

“Joan told him all about her ‘voices’ and what 
they had ordered her to do. Then the king believed 
her, but some bishops and other false counsellors 
induced him to send her to Poitiers to be tried in 
a court of Churchmen to find out whether her 
‘voices’ came from God or from Satan. 

“This, of course, caused another delay, for the 
trial took some time, the Churchmen prolonging 
the affair as much as they could. But finally they 
decided that Joan’s ‘voices’ did not come from 
Satan. When the king heard their report, he 
agreed to do what she asked of him—to make her 
commander-in-chief of the armies of France. She 
is the only person—either man or woman—in the 
history of the world who has ever been in entire 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


65 


command of the forces of any country at so early 
an age, for Joan was only seventeen. 

“On the way to meet her army she stopped at 
Tours. It was there that she had a vision of an 
old sword which one of her ‘voices’ told her was 
buried at a certain ancient church not far away. 
So she sent one of the knights to get it. It seems 
that there was a story in that neighborhood—an 
ancient story told by old men, who had heard it 
from their forefathers. This tradition said that 
the sword had been buried there, hundreds of 
years earlier, by the mighty Charlemagne, the em¬ 
peror who ruled over all of western Europe in the 
ninth century. And now Joan’s knights went and 
found this sword, and gave it to her. So she took 
Charlemagne’s sword into battle with her. 

“Joan’s next move was to Blois, where the 
soldiers had been gathering. General La Hire, a 
grizzled old warrior, was in command of the camp. 
They were hard-swearing, hard-drinking, and 
hard-fighting men, and La Hire was the hardest 
of them all. As commander-in-chief, the Maid’s 
first act was to order a review of the whole army. 
Her second was to call La Hire into private coun¬ 
cil. Next, she ordered that the soldiers must all 


66 


Ruth Visits Margot 


stop swearing and drinking, and must attend 
church twice every day. 

“Though La Hire thought these would be hard 
rules to enforce, he agreed to do his best. But 
when she said that he must be the first to obey the 
rules, it was too much! Why, he had been swear¬ 
ing and drinking all his life. How could he stop 
now? And as for attending church—impossible! 
But he soon grew ashamed of himself and came 
back to apologize and humbly promise to do his 
best. He kept his word and enforced her rules 
among the soldiers. The Maid’s goodness had 
won even the terrible La Hire. 

“Not far from Paris and from Blois is the city 
of Orleans. Here the English forces were besieg¬ 
ing the French in the city, surrounding it with 
their forts. The people were by now in a desperate 
condition, because for a long time it had been im¬ 
possible to get any food into Orleans, owing to the 
besieging enemy, and starvation was facing the 
city’s defenders. Something must be done, quickly, 
to relieve them, and Joan determined to go to their 
aid. She led her army through Olivet (across the 
River Loire from Orleans). Olivet was easily cap¬ 
tured. She entered Orleans by crossing the river 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


67 


at this point, but sent most of her army back to 
Blois to cross the river and come down on the 
other side. 

“The people of Orleans gave her a great wel¬ 
come and called her the ‘Maid of Orleans’—that is 
how she won this name. The citizens were so proud 
of her that they had a new and more beautiful suit 
of armor made for her. 

“When the army arrived, Joan of Arc took com¬ 
mand. In a series of hard-fought battles, fort 
after fort held by the English and Burgundians 
fell before her. She was wounded in the neck 
while climbing a scaling-ladder during one of the 
attacks. She soon returned to the assault, how¬ 
ever, and the siege of Orleans was raised on the 
eighth of May, 1429. This was the first big victory 
of her campaign. 

“The poor, weak King Charles had been left be¬ 
hind at Tours; so now Joan had to lead her army 
back there to report to him. He was, of course, 
pleased with her success so far, and offered to 
reward her. All she asked was that he should go 
with her to Rheims to be crowned; but he was 
afraid to go. She continued to plead. She knew 
that having a real crowned king would give the 


68 


Ruth Visits Margot 


soldiers more confidence, and help them to win 
more victories. But his counselors advised against 
going, and he was too weak-willed to oppose them. 

“In a sudden burst of generosity, however, he 
touched her with his sword and ennobled her and 
all her family. Her coat-of-arms was to be the 
lilies of France, the crown, and a sword. The title 
he gave her was ‘Dame du Lis’ or ‘The Lady of the 
Lilies.’ But what could a noble title mean to her? 
She was already more than noble: she was sub¬ 
lime—she was Joan of Arc! 

“The ‘Lady of the Lilies’ had to march without 
her king. Town after town yielded to her and her 
soldiers. Before she took command the war had 
gone on for ninety-one years, with some periods 
of several years, now and then, when both sides 
had stopped fighting for a while. Lately there had 
been one defeat after another for the French, until 
now the mere sight of the enemy threw the French 
into a panic. But during the seven weeks when 
Joan had been leading them, the French had won 
victory after victory. 

“Back to Orleans she went, to try again to in¬ 
duce the cowardly king to join her and the army in 
their fighting against the English. But he had 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


69 


already retreated to Gien. She followed and, this 
time, she succeeded in persuading him. Soon there 
were further victories; again, town after town fell. 

“Now they arrived in Rheims, and at last Charles 
VII was crowned king of France amid great pomp 
and splendor. Again he begged her to ask a 
favor of him. Her only request was that Dom- 
remy be freed from taxation forever. She could 
have had half of his kingdom for herself, but all 
she asked was help for others! 

“And still further triumphs were to come. Many 
more towns fell before her onslaught. Now the 
end of the war seemed in sight. But it was still 
necessary for her to take Paris, the capital, away 
from the English who were in possession; so she 
moved her army to St. Denis, just outside of Paris, 
and prepared to attack the city. 

“From this point on, the story of Joan is hard 
even for grown people to understand—to get 
straight; because the men who were in power in 
France were pulling so many different ways. 
There never was a time when all the French, in¬ 
cluding the King, were on Joan’s side, supporting 
her in her effort to drive the English from the 
country. There never was a time when they 


70 


Ruth Visits Margot 


weren’t fighting among themselves—some for the 
King, some against him; some for Joan, some 
against her. Even among the English, not all the 
leaders were working against the French; some 
were trying to help Joan. She could not tell who 
was loyal to her, and who was trying to betray her. 

“Charles himself hardly stayed of the same mind 
two days in succession. He would promise to help 
Joan, and the next day he would yield weakly to 
his worst advisers and start making it hard for her 
again. And she was doing all she could to save 
his country! Even the head men of the Church 
were opposed to the Maid. On every side she was 
in danger. But she kept on fighting at the head 
of her army, guided by her heavenly ‘voices’ and 
confident that she was doing the right thing. 

“Well, here she was, outside of Paris, ready to 
give battle to the English in the city. The first day 
of the siege went against her. Then, the next day, 
when she wanted to try again, the king prevented 
her. She tried to retreat. She was wounded. Her 
men, discouraged and frightened, wanted to give 
up, and she could not persuade them to keep on. 
Then she was captured by the treacherous Bur¬ 
gundians, and they sold her to the English.” 


Margot Hears the Story of the Maid 


71 


“Sold her?” asked Margot, her astonishment 
making her interrupt. 

“Yes. You see, the English by this time were 
sure that the only thing that prevented them from 
winning was Joan’s great influence on the French 
army. If only they could put her out of the way, 
they would be successful; and they were willing to 
pay the Burgundians to let them have her. Of 
course, they would say that she would have a ‘trial,’ 
but they planned to kill her. So in December, 1430, 
she was taken to Rouen and imprisoned, to await 
trial.” 

“Didn’t the king help her at all?” asked Margot. 

“Not at all. Nobody helped her. All that Joan 
had for comfort during this dreadful time was the 
visits of her angels, and their ‘voices’ telling her 
that she had done right. She was kept in prison 
for a long time. When finally she was brought to 
trial, both the Church and the English officials 
found her guilty, and she was burned at the stake 
—brave and simple and full of faith to the very 
end. It was a terrible and shameful thing; every¬ 
body admits that now. Joan was a truly great 
figure. And remember, Margot, she was only 
nineteen when she died!” 


72 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Margot sat silent for a long time, when her 
friend finished the story. Presently he interrupted 
her thoughts to suggest that they had better be 
starting homeward. In the village they found an 
American ambulance going to Neufchateau, 
whose driver agreed to give them a ride as far as 
that on their journey back to Bourmont. At Neuf- 
chateau they could take a train. 

On the train Margot was evidently still thinking 
of the story. She broke out, “I am so glad to know 
so much about Joan. Wasn’t she wonderful!” 

“One of the most wonderful persons in all his¬ 
tory,” he replied. “And an interesting fact of this 
World War is that no statue of Joan of Arc has 
been hit. Rheims Cathedral, where years ago she 
took King Charles to be crowned, was badly dam¬ 
aged by German shots; but Joan’s statue, in front 
of it, remained unharmed, even though the shots 
struck all about it. The same thing happened at 
many other places. Interesting, isn’t it? But here 
we are at Bourmont.” 


RUTH 



Margot, Ruth, and Private Kenworthy 


Chapter 6 

j A FEW weeks Margot’s American friend 
got word from his sister in America that it was 
going to be possible for Ruth to come to him in 
France, but that she would have to travel alone; 



73 







74 


Ruth Visits Margot 


her aunt could not leave home for so long a time. 

Ruth was much excited by the prospect, but her 
aunt was more concerned with making the neces¬ 
sary arrangements with the authorities, for even 
in ordinary times it is not easy to send a little girl 
across the Atlantic Ocean by herself. And though 
the War was over now, Ruth’s aunt had to do a 
good deal of letter-writing before all of Ruth’s 
plans were made. 

With her aunt she went to New York, where she 
was to go aboard the big ocean liner that would 
take her to France. The ship’s officers promised 
her aunt that they would take good care of Ruth 
on the way over. And indeed, before the boat 
reached Havre, the little girl was a favorite both 
with them and with her fellow-passengers, and 
she had enjoyed the trip so much that if it hadn’t 
been that “Daddy” was waiting for her, she would 
have been sorry to land! 

Havre is a French port on the north coast, on the 
English Channel, and here many of the big liners 
stop to leave passengers who are bound for France. 
At Havre Ruth found Madame Pucelle and Margot 
waiting to welcome her. Her father was in Bour- 
mont, eager to see his daughter; he had wanted to 


Ruth 


75 


go to meet the boat but had not been able to get 
leave of absence. 

Ruth found the train ride most interesting— 
everything looked so different from what she was 
used to in America. For instance, on the train 
itself she noticed that the door of the compartment 
was locked, and that when the conductor came 
around he had to unlock it. Margot explained that 
this was done to protect the passengers; that if 
the doors were kept unlocked the passengers 
might take it into their heads to visit their friends 
in another compartment, and that of course it 
would be dangerous for them to try to walk along 
the running-board. At the hotel where they 
stopped for one night, and at the cafes where they 
had their meals, Margot helped her new friend to 
order food. It was great fun to read the menu and 
change the French words into English. 

Everything was very new and strange to Ruth, 
but Margot and her mother soon put her at her 
ease. They told her something about the country 
through which they were passing. Ruth knew that 
she would like France and her new friends. Be¬ 
sides, she was going to see her father again after 
nearly two years! 


76 


Ruth Visits Margot 


At last they arrived at the little railway station 
at St. Thibault, which is just across the stone 
bridge from Bourmont. Private Kenworthy was 
waiting for his little daughter, for Madame 
Pucelle had telegraphed what train they were com¬ 
ing on. How glad the two were to see each other 
again! And how pleased Margot was to see her 
friends so happy together! Private Ken worthy 
had ordered a private dining-room in a cafe in the 
village, and they went there at once for a good 
dinner to celebrate the reunion. Then they walked 
up the Bourmont hill to Margot’s home. 

Margot returned to her studies the next morn¬ 
ing. As for Ruth, her father came up early to take 
her to the hospital with him. What fun it was for 
Ruth to watch him working in his laboratory! He 
mixed liquids in little glass tubes, held them in a 
small flame, and watched them change color. He 
spread different kinds of materials on thin glass 
slides, and dried them in the flame or the air; then 
he colored them with other liquids from small 
bottles, dried them again (sometimes with blotting 
paper), and put them on the microscope. When 
the slides were in position under the microscope’s 
magnifying lens, he would let her look through the 


Ruth 


77 


eye-piece, down through the tube, at what was on 
the slides. And what interesting things she saw! 

And so time passed. During the day Margot 
was busy with her school work. Private Kenworthy 
arranged for Ruth to study French and other sub¬ 
jects under a woman in Bourmont who spoke 
English. Sometimes she came down the hill and 
spent an hour or two with her father when he 
was not too busy to make experiments with his 
microscope and chemicals. One day he procured 
some very fine white sea sand from an old retired 
sailor in Bourmont. He put some of this sand on 
a slide under the microscope and, much to her sur¬ 
prise, Ruth discovered that it was made up of 
very tiny white shells! 

Both of the girls were always most happy when 
Ruth’s father could leave his work on Saturday 
and Sunday afternoon, to take long walks with 
them through the wood north of Bourmont or to 
visit other villages. Evenings they sat around the 
fireplace in the Pucelle home to play games, tell 
stories, and plan more hikes. It was not long be¬ 
fore Margot knew that she had not lost her big 
soldier friend, even though his own little daughter 
had come to France. 


RUTH AND MARGOT AT MENTONE 



Old Mentone 



Chapter 7 

OT long after Ruth’s arrival in March, 1919, 
Madame Pucelle decided to go to the South of 
France for a month’s visit on the Riviera. Ruth 
Kenworthy, who was still living with the Pucelles, 


78 











Rut/? and Margot at Mentone 79 

was to go with them. Margot’s mother had de¬ 
cided to stay at Mentone, because it is one of the 
prettiest and quietest towns on the Mediterranean 
coast of France—the Riviera. 

Mentone is down in the southeastern corner of 
France, on the Mediterranean Sea, just across the 
Pont Saint Louis from Italy. It has a delightful 
climate almost all of the year. There are many 
lovely public gardens with palm trees and flowers. 

The War being over now, the American soldiers 
who had not yet been sent home had more liberty 
to enjoy themselves. Private Kenworthy had ob¬ 
tained a two weeks’ leave-of-absence, and he too 
came to Mentone, staying at a smaller hotel not 
far from his daughter and their friends. Both 
hotels had entrances on the Promenade du Midi, 
a beautiful street that runs along the shore. 

The morning after his arrival he had breakfast 
with Ruth, Margot, and her mother. He suggested 
that they take a stroll on the Promenade. But 
Madame Pucelle didn’t feel like going out then, 
so the other three started off to enjoy themselves. 
They walked west along the coast, around the 
curve of the Bay of Mentone toward Nice. At 
Cap Martin they stopped and, before retracing 


80 


Ruth Visits Margot 


their steps, stood for a while to look back. A beau¬ 
tiful view of more than five miles stretched before 
them. 

The long, gray town extends as far as the last 
houses of Garavan, which is the eastern suburb of 
Mentone; it reaches as far even as the Italian 
frontier—a beautiful city by the sea—along the 
wonderful shore that the Romans called the “Bay 
of Peace.” Such is Mentone, a pearl among pearls. 

Behind the town, they saw no sudden, steep 
mountainside, as at Monte Carlo and some other 
Riviera towns. Instead of that, a charming coun¬ 
try lay before them; long, low hills covered with 
vineyards, and with lemon, orange, and olive or¬ 
chards. Behind the hills are the Maritime Alps. 
Far in the distance several villages can be seen 
perched high on the mountains. These are called 
by some “Saracen” villages; they are supposed to 
have been built by the Saracens back in the early 
Middle Ages. 

The Saracens were a people of Arab origin who 
lived on the eastern and southern shores of the 
Mediterranean a thousand years ago and less. 
They were Mohammedan in religion, brave, fierce, 
and war-like. The Saracens of northern Africa 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


81 


were pirates, whose boats made the Mediter¬ 
ranean a dangerous place for many centuries. 
When the Saracen pirates landed on the coast and 
attacked a town—as, for instance, Mentone—the 
people all rushed from their homes and ran up to 
the strong castle on the hill, where they found 
safety behind the fortifications. If the pirates 
caught any of the Christians, they carried them 
off for slaves. The captives were put to work row¬ 
ing the great pirate ships called galleys. But only 
a few of these Arabs ever settled in the country 
around Mentone, and the villages aren’t Saracen 
at all. 

While Ruth’s father was telling the two girls 
the story about the Saracens, they were all look¬ 
ing out over the Mediterranean. The girls decided 
that they had never before realized what the color 
blue could be! This sea is one of the most enchant¬ 
ing stretches of water in the whole world, its deep 
sapphire blue sparkling away for miles to the hori¬ 
zon where it meets the blue of the cloudless sky. 
None of them had ever dreamed of such beauty 
before, and they sat for a long time spellbound. 

On the way back, after lunch at an inn, they fol¬ 
lowed a road that led along a range of the lower 


82 


Ruth Visits Margot 


hills through a dark, shadywood and past pictur¬ 
esque villas of colored stucco — yellow, orange, 
pink, pale blue, light green, and white — that had 
been built among the trees. They returned to 
Mentone through pine forests, passing the ruins 
of St. Martin’s Chapel, which dates from the 
eleventh century. High on a hill they saw the an¬ 
cient ruins of the Convent of the Annunciation 
and the cemetery where the historic old Castle of 
Mentone used to stand. On leaving Carnoles, a 
western suburb of Mentone, they again followed 
the Promenade du Midi, past more villas, great 
orchards and, in the background, large olive trees, 
eucalyptus, pears, elms, and big oaks. 

In the center of the present city lies Old Men¬ 
tone, with its harbor where the boats come to be 
loaded with fruit; its richly colored houses, its nar¬ 
row, twisting streets, its many chapels, its long 
flights of steps, and its narrow paths climbing 
gradually up into the hills toward the old castle. 

The next morning Margot and Ruth were up 
early. Private Kenworthy called for them before 
any of the other hotel guests were astir. After a 
hurried breakfast together, they rushed out in 
search of adventure. 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


83 


And they soon found it. From a nearby alley 
came a series of hollow, metallic thuds and muf¬ 
fled screeches. Ruth’s father, thinking that some¬ 
thing terrible must be happening, told the girls 
to run back to the hotel, while he dashed into the 
alley. For once they did not take his advice, but 
followed him closely. Imagine their surprise on 
finding a large striped tomcat with its head caught 
in a salmon can! The poor cat was nearly mad with 
fright, and was dashing first one way and then an¬ 
other, sometimes running against the wall and 
sometimes into a post near the end of the alley. 

“Oh, the poor thing! Can’t we do something?” 
exclaimed Ruth. 

“We may have to cut the can off,” her father 
answered. “I have a can-opener on my Scout 
knife—that might do the job.” 

“Let’s try first to pull the can off,” Ruth sug¬ 
gested. 

“All right,” he replied, “but we must be careful 
not to hurt the cat. Let’s see, suppose you take 
hold of the can with both hands. Be ready to jump 
back quickly when his head comes out. He is so 
excited that he probably won’t know a friend from 
an enemy, and he may think it was all our fault.” 


84 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Ruth took a firm hold on the can. Her father 
held the cat with one hand, while with the other he 
very carefully freed its head, which had been held 
by its ears and fur. Margot was an interested 
watcher; she danced around excitedly, pitying the 
terrified cat. Ruth’s father held on until she 
jumped aside as he had told her to. The cat spat 
loudly, gave one last, long, dismal howl, and disap¬ 
peared up the alley in a cloud of dust. 

“Well!” exclaimed Margot. “I don’t think he 
was very grateful for all the trouble you took!” 

“That’s no way for a self-respecting tomcat to 
behave,” her friend admitted, “but he was so ex¬ 
cited he forgot his manners. We’ll forgive him 
this time.” 

The three strolled down to the beach, where they 
found a group of little Spanish donkeys, all 
saddled and bridled. Each had a girl driver, wait¬ 
ing for some one to come along and ride. These 
little donkeys are very strong, sure-footed, and 
patient; they are really quite lovable animals. 

“Oh, may we ride the donkeys, M’sieur Ken¬ 
worthy?” begged Margot. 

“Where to?” he asked in return. 

One of the donkey girls suggested that they ride 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


85 


through the hills to the mountain behind Mentone, 
where a little town named Sainte-Agnes sits high 
on the mountainside. She spoke in the Provencal 
language—the old language of Mentone—but it 
was enough like French so that Margot under¬ 
stood her. 

“That should be interesting,” Private Kenwor¬ 
thy admitted, when Margot had explained. “Do 
you want to go, girls?” 

“Yes, please; let’s,” they both urged, speaking 
at the same time. 

Margot chose the smallest donkey of them all. 
He had big floppy ears and little short legs, and 
looked for all the world like an overgrown jack- 
rabbit. Ruth chose a small white one. Her father 
picked out a bigger one, explaining, “It will fit me 
better.” 

The friends mounted, the donkey girls shouted, 
“Allezl” and they started—but not very fast. The 
donkeys were willing enough, but they insisted on 
choosing their own rate of speed. The three 
wished to ride side by side so they could talk with¬ 
out shouting, but that did not please their mounts. 
Margot’s donkey—the one with the big, floppy 
ears—insisted on taking the lead. Ruth’s little 


Ruth Visits Margot 


86 




white mount was next, while the bigger one with 
Private Kenworthy on its back trudged patiently 
behind. 

At first their course, led past some attractive 
villas; then between vineyards and fruit orchards; 
then up and up, through pine forests, for Sainte- 
Agnes is about twenty-three hundred feet above 
sea-level. There is no road to this little mountain 
village; one must go to it either on donkeyback or 
afoot. Soon after they had turned north, the road 
began to climb, gradually at first, but growing 
steeper and steeper until at last it was only a rough 
and rocky trail winding along narrow ledges in 
some places. 

Can you picture to yourself this little village 
perched almost on top of a mountain, with not even 
a road leading up to it? How would you like to 
live in such a place? The people there had no news¬ 
papers except a few that were sometimes brought 
up from Mentone, no telephones, no motion pic¬ 
tures, no automobiles. In fact, they lacked many 
of the things that American people seem to think 
necessary. But probably, for all that, the girls and 
boys of Sainte-Agnes are as happy as those who 
live in American towns. 



Most of the houses were square with red tile 
roofs. There were one or two inns and cafes, a 
couple of stores, and one small church, into which 
the riders decided to go. There they found a priest, 
who begged them to stay long enough to hear the 
legend of Sainte-Agnes. He was a dear, kind old 
man, who spoke excellent English. 

“Long ago, in the tenth century,” he began, “a 
Saracen chief named Haroun—who, though he 
was a pirate, loved beautiful things—caught sight 
of this mountain that we are on. One day, with a 
party of his youngest men, he climbed to the high¬ 
est point. What a wonderful view was spread 
before him! Look! Miles of Mediterranean coast¬ 
line, east and west—there is no more beautiful 
coast in the world. South, the deep blue of the 
sea; and north, the snow-topped Alps. And, 
thought the chief, what a fine place to defend, if 
he were attacked! Is it any wonder that Haroun, 
the pirate, chose this spot on which to build his 
castle? 

“Haroun and his men were returning from a 
raid on the rich city of Marseilles, with his ships 
full of gold, jewels, silks, laces, foods, and slaves. 
The men slaves would be made to row the big 


Ruth Visits Margot 


pirate ships, and the women to be workers in the 
vineyards and orchards. 

“All the women except one—a Christian maiden 
whom Haroun himself had captured in Marseilles. 
He loved her for her surpassing beauty. He had 
picked her up, thrown her over his shoulder, and 
then fought his way back to his ship. The maiden, 
Anna, begged to be freed and allowed to return to 
her home. She cried and pleaded until even the 
terrible Haroun took pity on her; he took her to 
his mother’s cabin on the ship and told her to be 
kind to the girl. 

“Each day he went to his mother’s cabin to see 
Anna, to tell her of his love, and to ask her to 
marry him. Slowly Anna grew to like Haroun, 
because she knew that he was being as kind to 
her as he knew how to be. Each day he brought 
her the finest fruit he could find, and each day a 
beautiful jewel. And at last Anna found herself 
loving him in return. But she would not marry 
him, even now, for she was a Christian and he was 
a Mohammedan—an enemy of Christianity. 

“Haroun’s ships were being pursued, so he sailed 
them all into the bay that you see down there. 
Here he found other Saracen pirates already 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


89 


camped, so he was safe, and the pursuing ships 
turned back without attacking. 

“Haroun brought the beautiful Anna up here 
to his strong castle and kept her prisoner for a 
long, long time. He begged her to abandon her 
religion and become a Mohammedan like himself. 
But Anna was a good Christian, and would not 
even think of deserting her faith. 

“Then, one day, Haroun grew very ill. Anna 
was sorry for him. She sat by his side every day, 
and explained Christianity to him; telling him of 
Jesus, of how He had healed people of all kinds of 
ailments, of how He had cured the blind and the 
lame, of how He had raised Lazarus and others 
from the dead. And Haroun began to believe that 
her religion was better than his. 

“But still Anna would not marry him, for she 
wanted to return to her home, where she could go 
to church and worship God in her own way. At 
last, Haroun consented to let her go. He gathered 
all of his money and jewels and sailed away to 
Marseilles. 

“As soon as they landed, Anna hurried to her 
favorite shrine to pray. She knelt before a statue 
of the Virgin. It is still there, as it has been for 


90 


Ruth Visits Margot 


eighteen hundred years, in the church called Notre 
Dame de Confession. You may see it yourselves 
if you ever go to Marseilles. 

“Anna felt much better after her long prayer, 
and she vowed that she would never marry anyone 
who was not a Christian. When she rose to her 
feet, she saw Haroun kneeling in a far corner of 
the church! Haroun kneeling in prayer! Soon 
after, he was converted and became a Christian. 
So they were married and lived happily ever 
after.” 

Margot and Ruth thanked the priest for his 
story, and then they mounted to return to Men¬ 
tone. 

On the way down they nearly caught up with a 
group of American soldiers who also were riding 
donkeys. One of the animals was fond of walk¬ 
ing on the very edge of the ledges. This it insisted 
on doing, much to the fright of its rider. Every 
time it walked along the edge of a dizzy cliff, the 
soldier leaned the other way. Once the donkey’s 
foot slipped, knocking a small stone over the edge, 
where it went bounding hundreds of feet below. 
Frightened, the soldier leaned so far the other 
way that he fell off ker-flop! 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


91 


Everybody laughed, of course, but the girl don¬ 
key-drivers laughed loudest of all. The soldier 
picked himself up, very red in the face. Even the 
donkey seemed to think it very funny, for he laid 
back his ears, stuck his head into the air, and 
brayed loudly as if he were laughing, too! Then 
everybody roared with laughter harder than be¬ 
fore, and even the fallen soldier chuckled. But 
he would not mount again, preferring to walk the 
rest of the way down the mountain. 

The next morning, before Madame Pucelle was 
up, the three ate hurriedly and started out once 
more. Again they seemed to be drawn toward 
the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. 

They found a group of native fisherfolk on the 
beach, drawing in a great net. The men had their 
trousers rolled to their thighs, and the women had 
their dresses tucked up above the knees. They 
were pulling on long ropes that stretched far out 
into the sea. 

Margot and Ruth stopped to watch these people 
as they hauled on the long ropes, hand over hand, 
coiling the ropes neatly on the sand. Before long, 
little cork floats appeared, and then the net itself. 
Now the people dragged the net in to the shore. 


92 


Ruth Visits Margot 


The two girls stepped closer to see what had 
been caught. They saw about three bushels of 
shining, silvery sardines, which would be canned 
later and probably shipped to Paris and other 
cities. 

The three then walked on down the beach and 
were soon hailed by two fishermen in a little sail¬ 
boat. The boat was drawn up on the edge of the 
beach, and the fishermen were trying to get pas¬ 
sengers for a short pleasure cruise. 

Margot bargained with the boatmen, and the 
three friends stepped into the boat. One of the 
men shoved off and jumped aboard. Both men 
rowed until they were out far enough to catch the 
breeze, for the wind was offshore that day. Then 
the men put up the lateen sail—a triangular sail 
that is used on most Mediterranean fishing and 
small pleasure boats. It is usually brown or red, 
but is sometimes bright blue, green, yellow, violet, 
or orange. 

The boat in which the friends had embarked 
was painted brown and had an orange-colored sail. 
The party first sailed about half a mile out from 
land and then followed the coast line east, past the 
beautiful suburb of Garavan and the Pont Saint- 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


93 


Louis at the frontier. They were now in Italy. 
They continued along the Italian coast to San 
Remo. Here they landed just long enough for 
Margot and her friends to walk about a bit and 
buy some souvenir postcards. The houses and the 
people were much the same as in Mentone. It was 
hard to realize that they had crossed the boundary 
from France into Italy. 

On the return trip they sat silent, admiring the 
scene around them—the deep blue sea, the white 
sea-wall, the yellow beach, the pink, light green, 
and light blue houses with their red tile roofs, the 
big white hotels gleaming in the sunshine, the 
several shades of green of the trees, the grayish 
white of the rocks on top of the mountains and, 
closer at hand, the swarm of yachts and ships in 
the harbor. There was so much to look at and en¬ 
joy that even the little girls were quiet for once! 

After lunch with Margot’s mother the friends 
strolled down to the beautiful Casino—a building 
which, like the one at Monte Carlo, had long been 
a famous gambling place. During the War, how¬ 
ever, the American Y. M. C. A. rented the entire 
building, and it was being used at this time as a 
gathering place for the American soldiers on leave 


94 


Ruth Visits Margot 


in Mentone. Every afternoon, there were motion 
pictures and vaudeville acts which the soldiers and 
their friends could attend free. On Sunday morn¬ 
ings church services were held. 

Madame Pucelle and the girls went into the 
building with Ruth’s father to buy some candy. 
They stopped to watch the picture for a moment. 
Then Madame Pucelle decided to stay and see it 
all. Margot had lived in a little French village 
most of her life, and had seen very few motion pic¬ 
tures, and here in Mentone there had been too 
many other places to go, too many things to see, 
the weather too fine, for her to feel like staying 
indoors. So Margot and Ruth left Madame Pucelle 
to enjoy the picture, preferring to walk with the 
soldier through the public gardens near the 
Casino, north towards the hills. 

On one of the lower hills behind Mentone is a 
beautiful public park that has been kept in its 
natural forest state, with great oak and pine trees, 
wild flowers, and a babbling mountain brook. 
There are rustic benches and mossy rocks to sit 
upon. The climb up the steps and winding paths 
had tired all three and they were glad to sit on a 
bench to rest. 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


95 


“What is that?” asked Margot. “It sounds like 
somebody crying.” 

“It must be a child,” replied Ruth. “Let’s go and 
see.” 

Sure enough, they found a girl about four years 
old, a pretty child who was sitting on the ground 
in the midst of a lot of flowers she had picked and 
played with until tired. She was sobbing loudly. 

Margot spoke to her in French. 

“No,” replied the little girl in English, “I’m not 
losted. Nursie is losted.” But now she began to 
smile just a bit. 

Margot took a handkerchief and wiped away the 
tears, and Ruth picked the child up in her arms. 
The youngster soon forgot her troubles. 

By questioning, they learned that her name was 
Pam and that, while picking flowers, she had seen 
a “pitty buttyfly” and followed it. 

“Let’s try to find her nurse,” suggested Margot. 

“I’m afraid Pam is too tired now,” answered 
Ruth’s father. “Suppose you girls stay here with 
her, while I search for the nurse. I won’t be long.” 

He had not gone far before he found a young 
Frenchwoman who appeared much excited. She 
rushed to him and asked if he had seen a little girl. 


96 


Ruth Visits Margot 


He took her to where Margot, Ruth, and Pam 
were waiting, and “Mam’selle” was overjoyed at 
seeing her little charge safe. She explained that 
it had all been her fault—she had dropped off to 
sleep, and Pam had wandered away. 

She told them that she had been Pam’s nurse for 
the past three years, and had traveled about with 
Pam and her mother wherever they went. Pam’s 
father was an officer in the British army, and Pam, 
her mother, and Mam’selle were spending several 
months in Mentone before returning to England. 

After everybody had rested and become ac¬ 
quainted, they decided upon a walk through the 
garden and wood before returning to the city be¬ 
low. They followed a winding path and finally 
came out into a cleared piece of pasture land. 

“Oh, look!” cried Margot, pointing. “What is 
that, M’sieur Kenworthy?” 

Until they came closer to it, even he could not 
tell what the strange-looking object was. But 
they soon found it to be a donkey who, after being 
tied to a tree with a long rope, had wound the rope 
round and round the tree, twisted the rope around 
its neck and one of its front legs, and then fallen 
down, helpless. 


Ruth and Margot at Mentone 


97 


Private Kenworthy and Mam’selle tried to help 
it to rise, but could not because it was so badly 
wound up. Then they tried to untie the rope, but 
could not do that either. The knot was too hard. 
Then he opened his Scout knife, and held the don¬ 
key while Mam’selle cut the rope and unwound it 
from the donkey and the tree. Finally, after it 
was tied again, and allowed to get to its feet, the 
donkey wiggled both of its long ears, shook its 
legs, one at a time, and ran a few times around the 
tree again. Then it walked slowly up to Private 
Kenworthy and tried to get its nose into one of his 
coat pockets. The pocket was buttoned, but he 
found a piece of chocolate for the animal. It was 
a friendly little donkey and seemed to like to be 
petted by Margot, Pam, and Ruth. 

The donkey tried to follow them, but the rope 
held it back. The girls were just saying how sad 
it looked, when all of a sudden it kicked up its hind 
feet, ran a couple of times around the tree, stopped 
and wiggled its. funny, big, floppy ears, laid them 
back, opened its mouth wide, and said, “Hee-haw, 
hee-haw, hee-haw,” just as the soldier’s donkey 
had done during their recent adventure. 


THE STRANGE LEGEND OF GARAVAN 



Pont Saint-Louis. The bridge between France and Italy 


Chapter 8 

IFTER breakfast next morning 1 Margot 
and Ruth stopped at the hotel for Pam and 
Mam’selle, as they had arranged to do, and 



98 



















The Strange Legend of Garavan 


99 


they decided to take a walk across the border 
into Italy. 

At each end of the Pont Saint-Louis was a tiny 
house—a sentry box—just big enough for a man 
to stand or sit in. On the French end of the bridge 
stood a soldier, wearing the horizon blue of the 
French. But as the little group approached, the 
guard stood his long, bayoneted rifle against the 
little house, and stepped up to Private Kenworthy 
with a friendly grin, and said, “Hello, buddy, 
where are you from?” 

“Michigan,” said Private Kenworthy, in sur¬ 
prise. “Where are you from, and how do you hap¬ 
pen to be wearing that uniform?” He was sure 
that the man was an American. 

“I’m from Tennessee, and my name is Fort,” he 
replied. “I was traveling in France in 1914, when 
the War started, so I enlisted in the French army.” 

“But why didn’t you transfer into the American 
army later?” asked Private Kenworthy. 

“Well,” he answered, “I was used to the French 
army by that time, and I just didn’t feel like 
changing over. Besides, I was learning French 
fast, and staying with my outfit seemed to be the 
best way of keeping on. Still, I do enjoy meeting 



100 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Americans down here. Have you people time to 
sit down and talk a bit?” 

They said they certainly had, and proceeded to 
look around for something to sit on. The soldier 
reached into his sentry box and pulled out a stool 
for Mam’selle,—“But I think the rest of you will 
have to make yourselves comfortable on the 
ground.” 

He was a very friendly young fellow, and soon 
all six of them were deep in a lively conversation. 
The sentry had many questions to ask, and in his 
turn met theirs with some interesting stories of 
his own experiences. In the course of one of these 
he chanced to mention an old legend that was cur¬ 
rent in the district and Ruth and Margot promptly 
asked him to tell it. 

“It’s rather long,” he replied, “but maybe it will 
interest you. It is connected with Garavan. You 
know where Garavan is?” They nodded. “Well, 
it was told to me by an old man of Garavan, just 
as he had heard it from his great-grandfather, 
many years ago. 

“When Adam and Eve were forced to leave the 
Garden of Eden they were very, very sad, for the 
Garden was such a lovely place to live in. They 


The Strange Legend of Garavan 


101 


had no trunks or other baggage to pack, of course, 
and no tables, and chairs, and beds to move, as 
people have nowadays. 

“Moving was easy then. But women are more 
thoughtful of their comfort and their future than 
men are, so just as they were passing the Angel 
with the Flaming Sword, Eve asked if she might 
take along some fruit to eat on the journey, and 
to remember her old home by. The angel said 
that he could see no harm in that, provided that 
Eve would be very careful not to damage the 
trees. 

“Eve carefully broke off four branches—one of 
lemons, one of oranges, one of figs, and one of 
olives. Adam would not speak to the angel, nor 
even help carry the fruit, because he was sad and 
resentful over being put out of the Garden of 
Eden. He kept telling Eve that it was all her 
fault. 

“Nobody seems to know just where the Garden 
of Eden was, but it must have been the loveliest 
place in the whole world, for Adam and Eve 
walked, and walked, for weeks and weeks, without 
finding any new place that looked nearly as nice 
as their old home. They were both getting very 


102 


Ruth Visits Margot 


tired by the time they reached the coast of the 
country we now call Italy. Then one day, just 
when Adam vowed he would not go much farther, 
Eve cried, ‘Stop, Adam. Isn’t that the sweetest 
place! Right over there—see? It looks almost like 
Eden!’ 

“Adam looked, and immediately agreed with 
her. 

“The spot she was pointing to was right over 
there, under that high, white cliff that you see. 
They went to it and found a nice, big, new cave. 
Nobody had ever lived there before; and they de¬ 
cided that this was the place for them to settle 
down. 

“Right away Adam began pulling a lot of small 
branches, leaves, and pine needles, and piling 
them in one corner of the cave for a bed. Eve was 
at the same time planting the lemon, orange, and 
fig seeds, and an olive stone. 

“The trees grew fast, and when Adam and Eve 
were hungry they had fruit right in their front 
yard. When they were thirsty they had a river of 
cold, clear water to drink. And when they wanted 
to bathe there was the whole beautiful bay for a 
bath tub! 


The Strange Legend of Garavan 


103 


“As time passed, they had children and grand¬ 
children; and before Adam and Eve died they saw 
their great-grandchildren playing about in front 
of the cave where they had settled so many years 
before. 

“Now, according to this legend, this was the way 
that the human race came to be—starting right 
here in Garavan. Time went on, and people be¬ 
came wiser and wiser. One man presently learned 
how to make stone hammers; another one used 
harder stone, called flint, and made better ham¬ 
mers, and hatchets, and knives. Then some man 
later tied a flint knife on the end of a long stick, 
and called it a spear. After many centuries, a 
clever man invented the bow and arrow. Some¬ 
body found out the secret of fire; maybe from a 
tree that had been set afire by lightning; maybe 
by striking two pieces of flint together; maybe by 
rubbing sticks—nobody knows. Now that these 
people had weapons and fire, they learned to cook 
meat. 

“In the meantime some of the women had begun 
to make baskets; first by using big leaves, later by 
weaving grasses. At first they used these baskets 
to cook in by filling them partly full of food and 


104 


Ruth Visits Margot 


water and then dropping heated stones in, so as to 
boil the food. But, no matter how closely they wove 
these baskets, still they leaked, until some of the 
women tried lining them with clay. This clay 
lining stopped the baskets from leaking, but at 
first the clay made the food very dirty. After the 
clay-lined baskets had been set out in the sun to 
dry a few times, however, the clay hardened 
enough to remove that trouble. 

“One day a very careless woman left a clay- 
lined basket too close to the flames and it caught 
fire. This burned all of the basket-work off and 
baked the clay very hard. So you see the first real 
cooking pot was made by chance. It was not much 
like our pottery now—it was rough inside and 
clumsily shaped, and the print of the basket-work 
remained on the outside. But this accident was 
the beginning of pottery-making, so the legend 
says. 

“Well, the people continued to improve their 
ways of living, and to increase in number, and to 
spread farther and farther away from this coun¬ 
try, until after thousands of years they covered the 
whole earth. And that’s the end of the story! Of 
course, you understand, it isn’t true. It is only the 


The Strange Legend of Garavan 


105 


way that people thought things got started, before 
they really knew. Science teaches us a very dif¬ 
ferent story today—though the scientists agree 
that the way in which the long-ago Cave People 
learned how to make pottery, for instance, was 
just about as this legend tells.” 

Ruth had a question. “Then there were really 
Cave People? Do they know that now?” 

“There surely were,” the soldier assured her. 
“This southern part of France and the northern 
part of Spain are full of caves where men lived 
several hundred thousand years ago—caves more 
or less like this one near here. And wonderful 
discoveries have been made in them, discoveries 
that tell us a good deal about how those people of 
the Old Stone Age lived. The scientific men who 
make such investigations are called archeologists, 
which means that they try to find out all they can 
about the ancient life of our race, before there was 
any recorded history. Some of these men have 
dug into the floor of that cave over there and have 
found interesting things in the rubbish of cen¬ 
turies. In the top layer there was some fairly good 
pottery, beads, and weapons; down deeper, there 
was cruder pottery and rougher hammers; and 


106 - 


Ruth Visits Margot 


deepest of all they found some clumsy cooking- 
baskets and soft stone hammers. What do you 
suppose they decided all this meant—that is, the 
order in which the things were found?” 

Ruth and Margot looked at each other, but it 
was the American girl who guessed first. “Why,” 
she said slowly, “I suppose it meant that the top 
things were the kind used by the people who lived 
in the cave last? And the ones that were down 
deepest—they must have been left long before 
that—by the people who lived in the cave first. Is 
that it?” 

“Exactly.” The soldier turned to Private Ken¬ 
worthy. “Do you realize that you have a daughter 
here who uses her head? You ought to be proud 
of that kid!” And indeed, the other man was smil¬ 
ing broadly, while Ruth turned pink with embar¬ 
rassment. To cover this up she asked hurriedly, 
“Is that all of the story?” 

“Yes—unless you and the others have time to 
go over to the cave and see what it looks like. 
There is a man there who will tell you more than 
I can. In Mentone there is a museum in which 
many of the things are preserved that were found 
in the cave. Perhaps you will have time to visit it?” 


The Strange Legend of Garavan 


107 


Private Kenworthy rose and said, “I’m afraid 
our days here are going to be packed pretty full 
as it is, and I doubt whether we can get there. I 
know we’d all like to go over to the cave, but there 
is no time left now. We must get started back to 
our hotels. I am sure we are all very much obliged 
to you for your talk, aren’t we, girls?” 

The two girls spoke their thanks to the soldier, 
and Mam’selle made a polite French speech of 
gratitude as the party turned to make its way 
back to the city. 


ONTOMONACO AND MONTE CARLO 



The old city of Monaco 


Chapter 9 

AM’SELLE had said that Pam and she were 
going to Monte Carlo and asked Margot and Ruth 
to go along. So the five friends were soon on the 



108 















On to Monaco and Monte Carlo 


109 


tram, or electric trolley car, which runs west along 
the sides of the mountains. Below them were the 
rocks, and far below these, the sea. All around 
were the gay villas made of colored stucco. And 
what a shaky, shivery ride it was. The tram sped 
along on its way sometimes rocking, sometimes 
going around the curves so fast that the girls 
squealed and held each other in make-believe 
fright. Sometimes they were so high in the air, 
on steel trestles, that they seemed to be flying. 
But everything they saw was so interesting and 
beautiful that they all enjoyed their trip. 

What is now called the old city of Monaco, built 
upon a high rock extending out into the sea, was 
first settled many hundreds of years ago by the 
Phoenicians, a people who lived at the eastern end 
of the Mediterranean and later on the north coast 
of Africa. They were great sailors and merchants, 
who founded settlements all around the Mediter¬ 
ranean Sea, to trade with the natives. This city 
of Monaco is the capital of the little country, or 
principality, of Monaco; the whole country no big¬ 
ger than a good-sized American city, and, at the 
time when Ruth and Margot saw it, governed by 
a prince. 


110 


Ruth Visits Margot 


The streets are old and narrow, but very clean. 
On the edge of the big Rock, overlooking the sea, 
is a little open-air restaurant, where the friends 
sat down at a white table, and had lunch. From 
their seats they could see the palace of the Prince. 
Sentinels in their neat uniforms, with spotless, 
snowy-white trousers, helmets, and gloves, 
marched stiffly back and forth; and a few guards, 
off duty, were walking about. 

Below, in the little harbor, the Prince’s yacht, 
with many others, was anchored. For many years 
the rulers of Monaco have been famous sailors 
and yachtsmen. Near the palace, the Prince has 
the greatest marine museum in the world, full of 
all kinds of fishes, sea-monsters, sponges, other 
sea life, models of ships, and other interesting 
things. 

From the old city of Monaco, it is only a few 
minutes’ walk to the newer city of Monte Carlo, 
which is a part of the little country. Some people 
consider Monte Carlo more beautiful than Men¬ 
tone; but it has a different kind of beauty. Men¬ 
tone is more natural, for the trees are mostly those 
that grow naturally in southern France: chest¬ 
nuts, oaks, and pines. Monte Carlo, on the other 



Monte Carlo and 'palace of the Prince of Monaco 

ill 

























































































































On to Monaco and Monte Carlo 


113 


hand, has giant cacti, rubber trees, palms, and 
other foreign trees and shrubs. 

Monte Carlo is most noted, however, for its big 
gambling palace, which is known all over the 
world. The party, having looked at it with some 
curiosity from the outside, strolled about through 
the beautiful gardens, and then up the hill. Monte 
Carlo is built on the side of the mountain, and it 
seemed to them that they would never reach the 
“top of the city.” From there they had a splendid 
view east, west, and south, including a big, black 
thunderstorm coming right their way. 

None of them had coats, and as the rain reached 
them, they all rushed down the hill, pell-mell, as 
fast as they could run, with Mam’selle carrying 
Pam in her arms. 

About halfway down the hill they came to a 
large four-story building with a high iron fence 
around it. Over the gate was an iron arch with 
these words in gilt letters, "Ecole pour Jeunes 
Filles.” 

“School for Young Girls,” Margot translated, 
and added, “It is a boarding-school, of course.” 

“Oh, a French boarding-school!” Ruth ex¬ 
claimed. “I wish we could see inside.” 


114 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Just at that moment, two women in earnest con¬ 
versation approached, seemingly not minding the 
rain a bit. One of them—the elder—had over¬ 
heard Ruth’s remark, and now she said in English, 
but with a French accent, “So you would like to 
‘see inside’ of my school, Mademoiselle? And why 
not? You do not like our French rains.” She had 
recognized Ruth as an American child. The con¬ 
cierge, or porter, now stood politely holding the 
gate open. 

“Enter, my friends,” continued the elder woman, 
who was evidently the head of the school. Mo¬ 
tioning to Private Kenworthy and the girls, she 
led the way up the walk. 

Just then a gong sounded in the lobby. Margot 
and Ruth heard the tramping of many feet. Soon 
a group of very little girls came marching down 
the great marble stairway, led by a young lady. 
All of the children wore pretty blue uniforms and 
berets (a small wool tarn). When they reached the 
windows and saw that it was raining, they sud¬ 
denly looked dismayed. Apparently they had ex¬ 
pected to go outdoors. 

The headmistress spoke to the girls’ leader in 
French. 


On to Monaco and Monte Carlo 


115 


“Oui, oui, Madame ,” was the reply. 

Madame pressed a button, and a bonne, or maid, 
appeared. 

Madame gave another order. 

“Oui, oui, Madame.” The maid retired, to return 
shortly with other maids, each carrying little 
chairs, which they placed in a circle, with a larger 
chair for the maitresse, or teacher. Now came 
other groups of girls; one group being about six 
to eight years of age, another group of from eight 
to ten, another of ten to twelve years, and so on. 
The maids continued to bring chairs, and the chil¬ 
dren all seated themselves in circles with their 
teachers. 

Now the maids brought little sewing baskets for 
the youngest girls of all—tots of four to six years 
of age; and the youngsters were soon busy sewing 
and embroidering under the direction of their 
maitresse. Little drawing boards were brought 
for the girls in the next few groups. These boards 
had muslin Corners, under which the children 
slipped their sheets of paper. The teachers placed 
pictures of dogs, cats, and other objects on the 
floor against their knees for the children to copy. 
Then painting supplies were brought for the older 


116 


Ruth Visits Margot 


girls, who were soon at work with their water 
colors. How busy they all were! 

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if I could attend a school 
like this!” Ruth exclaimed to her father. 

“Mother was going to send me to a boarding 
school,” Margot told her, “but the War came, and 
Father was no longer with us to earn money. So 
I shall have to wait until I am older. But I do not 
care, for I like best to be with Mother.” 

It was such fun to watch the children at their 
sewing, embroidering, drawing, and painting. 
Madame explained that the older girls also studied 
the French language and grammar (reading 
aloud), either English or German, ancient and 
modern literature, arithmetic, geometry, chemis¬ 
try, physics, natural history, domestic economy, 
music and gymnastics; and some of them studied 
Latin. Ruth reflected that, after all, the course 
given here was not greatly different from what 
boarding-school girls at home studied. She noticed 
that all of the children, when speaking to a 
teacher, always addressed her as “Madame,” Mar¬ 
got explained that this was school etiquette and 
did not mean that all three teachers were married 
women! 


On to Monaco and Monte Carlo 


117 


The headmistress now suggested that the visi¬ 
tors might like to see where the students slept and 
ate. She led the way up clean white stairs and 
along a corridor, and opened a door. 

“Oh, isn’t it sweet!” exclaimed Ruth, looking 
about her. 

“Mais oui!” In her excitement, Margot forget 
her English. 

A row of high, narrow, and very clean white 
beds lined each wall. Beside each little bed was a 
white commode with toilet articles, and over each 
commode hung a rosary. 

“This is where the younger girls sleep,” Madame 
explained. “Now, if you will come with me—” 

She led the way downstairs and opened another 
door to Show a large room filled with long tables 
covered with spotlessly white linen, dainty china, 
and gleaming silver. Some of these tables were 
very low, with little chairs for the small children. 

“What a perfectly delightful dining room!” Pri¬ 
vate Kenworthy was full of admiration. 

By this time, the shower was over. But it was 
too late for the students to take their walk with 
their teachers. 

“If you can wait,” Madame told the soldier and 


118 


Ruth Visits Margot 


his friends, “you may see the children doing their 
folk dances in the garden.” 

“Thank you,” Private Kenworthy replied, “but 
we must hurry now, to catch the tram back to 
Mentone for the night.” 

It had not rained at all in Mentone, and the 
weather was fine. Ruth’s father hired a carriage 
to take them to a little restaurant down on the 
beach, near the Italian border. The dining room 
was situated out over the water, with the waves 
rolling up under the floor. For the girls this was 
an • interesting experience with which to end a 
truly wonderful day. 


ADVENTURES IN NICE 



Chapter 10 

i^^JlFTEEN miles west of Mentone, along the 
beautiful Mediterranean shore, past Monaco and 
Monte Carlo, is Nice—another playground for the 
rich. Nice is pronounced just like “niece.” 











120 


Ruth Visits Margot 


The whole party rode to Nice on the train—a 
train not at all like those that go through Bour- 
mont. These cars in Nice were much larger, with 
aisles down one side, instead of having no aisles 
at all. 

Throughout France the railways are very safe. 
At each crossing there is a pair of gates, and a 
little house in which lives the gate-keeper—usu¬ 
ally a woman. Just before train time she comes 
out, blows a tin horn, puts the gates down, and 
then stands perfectly still with the horn in one 
hand and a flag in the other, holding them both 
up so that everyone on the road can see. No mat¬ 
ter how hard it may be raining, she stands there 
just the same. Sometimes the trains are late; but 
no matter how late they are, there she is, standing 
like a statue, and holding up all the traffic until 
the train passes. After that she puts up the gates, 
blows the horn, and goes back into her little house. 

Nice is on the pretty Bay of Angels and was 
first settled long ago by some Greeks from Mar¬ 
seilles, or possibly, as some say, by the Phoenicians. 
During the days of the Roman Empire, Nice was a 
rich Roman province, and wealthy Roman noble¬ 
men had beautiful palaces, villas, and baths here. 


Adventures in Nice 


121 


It was annexed to France in 1860, and since then 
most of the new part has been built. Probably no 
city of its size in the world has more beautiful 
palaces and hotels than Nice. 

Down on the shore Margot and her friends 
found the beautiful, white-domed Casino which, 
like the one at Mentone, had been rented by the 
American Y. M. C. A. and was used as a place for 
the American officers and soldiers to gather and 
enjoy themselves. The building sat out over the 
water, like so many buildings in that part of the 
country. 

East and west from the Casino stretch miles of 
beach; in some places soft sand, and in other places 
large rocks, have been washed ashore by the 
waves. Beside the beach are beautiful wide 
streets, lined with palm and pine trees, and many 
comfortable benches. 

“What pretty streets,” cried Margot. “Do you 
know the names of them, M’sieur Kenworthy?” 

“Yes,” he replied. “The other night I was read¬ 
ing a guidebook that told me a good deal about 
them. First I’ll tell you about the one that runs 
toward the west. Over a hundred years ago, in 
1821, there was a very bad winter that killed most 


122 


Ruth Visits Margot 


of the fruit trees. Many of the poor people of 
Nice had no fruit to sell. They had no money with 
which to buy food, and they were hungry. Some 
rich English people who then lived in Nice told the 
poor men that if they would build a good, big, wide 
street west along the shore from this spot, they 
would give them all enough money to buy food for 
their families. The road was built; it took a lot of 
work and a lot of time, but the poor people of the 
whole city were kept from starving. And when 
the new street was all finished, what do you think 
the people of Nice named it? La Promenade des 
Anglais —the English Promenade—because the 
English people had been so good. Isn’t that a 
good name for it?” 

“Yes. And the other—?” 

“The other one going east from here,” said her 
companion, “is the Quai des Stats Unis. It is 
named after the United States. In this way, you 
see, Nice helps the friendship between France, 
England, and the United States.” 

Rich people from all over the world come to Nice 
because the city is so beautiful and the climate is 
so mild. One hears many different languages. 
Most of the European people, of course, dress 


Adventures in Nice 


123 


much alike, but sometimes Margot saw an Arab 
with his white, sheet-like robe, or burnoose, 
wrapped about him; or an Algerian soldier, also 
from northern Africa across the Mediterranean. 
Each of these soldiers wears a cap, or fez, having 
a tassel dangling over one eye or ear. 

At the bank of the Paillon, a little river that 
runs through Nice, some women were washing 
clothes. They knelt behind a boarded protection, 
built so that the water would not splash on them. 
The women rubbed lots of soap into the wet 
clothes, and sloshed them up and down in the 
water. Then they pounded them with short 
wooden paddles. After this they swished the 
clothes through the stream to rinse them, paddled 
them some more, and continued this process until 
the clothes were clean. 

Now they spread them on the grass to dry in the 
sun. This is the way clothes are washed all over 
France, except that when no streams are handy 
big concrete troughs are built under sheds. The 
women really enjoy washing in this way; for, while 
it is hard work, they have plenty of company, and 
there is a chance to talk and laugh as they work. 

Margot and Ruth visited Castle Rock, in the 


Ruth Visits Margot 


124 


park where the old Castle of Nice used to be. The 
view was very good from the top of the big rock, 
though not so good as from Sainte-Agnes. Going 
back down the big hill Margot insisted on leading 
the way down a narrow, winding path which took 
them through an old cemetery. 

From the cemetery, the path grew wider and 
turned into a very crooked street, which led 
through the old part of the town. Besides being 
narrow and crooked, the street was rather dark. 
The houses were nearly all six stories high, so that 
little sunlight could get down to the street except 
at noon. Here and there carpets, rugs, and pieces 
of colored sail-cloth were hung from one window 
to another. In other places, vines were trained 
across the windows. Potted flowers and birdcages 
were plentiful, and clotheslines full of gayly col¬ 
ored dresses and shirts waved in the breeze. 

There were no sidewalks. But even if there had 
been, they would have not been used, for the 
housewives have the habit of throwing their dish¬ 
water out of their front windows! Everyone must 
be careful lest he get an unwelcome showerbath! 
The street was full of children, dogs, cats, and 
chickens, and there was a great scampering when- 


Adventures in Nice 


125 


ever a wagon or an automobile would come along. 

Ruth noticed again that there were no porches. 
Some of the women had brought their sewing, or 
their vegetables to be pared, to the bottom of the 
stairways. There they could talk and laugh with 
their neighbors across the street. In little open 
places along the thoroughfare, women sat with 
baskets of fish or vegetables for sale. One little 
girl was trying to sell small bunches of flowers 
from the flower market. She looked very tired and 
discouraged because she had not sold many. 

“Oh, let’s buy some!” Margot and Ruth both 
spoke at once. So Ruth’s father bought all the 
flowers that the child had, giving her twice as 
much as she asked for them. When she had 
thanked him, and started to run away, he called 
her back and asked her to have lunch with them 
in a little restaurant. They had beefsteak, pota¬ 
toes, soft white cheese, hot chocolate, and some 
dark bread that had been baked in a round loaf 
about a yard long. Ruth was again interested, as 
she always was, in watching the bread being cut, 
for the French usually hold the loaf firmly against 
their chests and then slice toward them. 

The little flower-girl was evidently very hungry; 


126 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and Margot and Ruth purposely ate slowly, so she 
would eat as much as she could hold. When the 
food was all gone they asked the waitress to bring 
more bread and cheese and chocolate; then more 
cakes—for though all the children kept saying 
that they just couldn’t eat anything more, some¬ 
how they managed to! 

When they left the restaurant Private Kenwor¬ 
thy stopped at a bakery for a great big loaf of 
bread, made in a circle, with a hole in the middle. 
Then he went into another little store, and came 
out with a small dressed doll. Both of these he 
gave to the flower-girl. 

“Oh—she didn’t say ‘thank you/ M’sieur Ken¬ 
worthy!” said Margot. 

“No,” he replied, “but thanks were unnecessary. 
Her face showed plainly enough that she was 
happy—and grateful too. Now there are other 
places to see, so let’s hurry.” 

Margot and her friends followed the twisting 
street to its end at the quay, or wharf, where they 
came to the flower and fruit markets. 

The Nice flower market is famous for its carna¬ 
tions, roses, and violets, which are sent all over 
France. The vendors are mostly women and girls 


Adventures in Nice 


127 


who sit under big sunshades, surrounded by their 
baskets of flowers. Altogether, it is a delightful 
place to visit and, as Margot said, “It smells good, 
too!” 

The party arrived at the railway station early. 
This was fortunate, for when Private Kenworthy 
drew his money from his pocket, it was all torn into 
small pieces. The French paper money, you see, 
is not so strong and tough as ours; it is more like 
very thin newspaper, and tears easily. Another 
interesting thing about French money is that the 
more francs the note calls for, the bigger it is. 
A five-franc note is larger than a one-franc; a 
ten-franc is larger than a five, and so on up to a 
thousand-franc note, which is very big indeed! 
But his money was so torn that it looked like some 
kind of puzzle. 

“Now, what are we going to do?” asked Margot, 
in dismay. “I have only a few big sous with me.” 
She looked at Ruth. 

“I have only five francs," Ruth told her. 

“We’ll get back to Mentone, some way,” re¬ 
turned her older friend. “It’s my own fault, for I 
should have had it safe in my bill-fold. But I 
think I know who can help us.” 


128 


Ruth Visits Margot 


He led the way back to the Y. M. C. A., where 
he and one of the “Y” men carefully pieced the 
money together, and pasted it on a large sheet of 
paper. It looked more like a puzzle than ever, 
now. 

The “Y” man told them that he could take it to 
the bank the next day, and get new money for it. 
So he gave the soldier some good whole money in 
place of it. They all thanked the man for helping 
them out of what had seemed to be very real 
trouble. 

The next morning Madame Pucelle, Margot, and 
Ruth went to the train with Private Kenworthy, 
since it was time for him to return to his company 
at Bourmont. But Margot and her mother were 
to stay at Mentone a while longer. He decided to 
leave Ruth with them, because he could not keep 
her with him at the hospital where he worked. 
Madame Pucelle and the girls were very sorry to 
have him go, but even so, the remainder of their 
Mentone visit passed very pleasantly. 


THE GIRLS SEE PARIS 



Arch of Triumph and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 


Chapter 11 

l OT long after Margot and Ruth and 
Madame Pucelle had returned to Bourmont, there 
came an opportunity for both girls to visit Paris. 



129 























130 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Margot had an aunt and uncle living in Paris, and 
when Madame Pucelle learned that Private Ken¬ 
worthy had been granted leave-of-absence to go 
there, she readily agreed to allow Margot to visit 
the city with him and Ruth. Paris is some distance 
from Bourmont, but Margot’s mother knew that 
her daughter would be in good care while she was 
away from home. 

On the day when Private Kenworthy and the 
two girls arrived in Paris, they walked about for a 
while, with no special plans. Presently they found 
themselves in the Place de la Concorde. This part 
of Paris is much as it was a hundred years ago, 
though it is considered new compared with the 
older parts of the city. Several blocks away stands 
the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, a magnificent and 
imposing arch erected more than a hundred years 
ago to celebrate the victories of the French army. 

Across the Place de la Concorde is another 
famous arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, 
built by Napoleon. The visitors thought that this 
one, with its white marble pillars and large group 
of bronze horses and men on top, was far more 
beautiful than the other. Between the two arches 
runs the fine wide Avenue des Champs-Elysees, 


The Girls See Paris 


131 


lined on both sides with shade trees. Little brown 
taxicabs scuttled up and down this avenue, and 
there were many persons on bicycles. A man with 
two great big baskets was selling roses and carna¬ 
tions that had probably come all the way from the 
flower market in Nice. 

Margot and Ruth gasped as they watched the 
flower man, right out in the middle of the avenue, 
dodging the taxis and bicycles. They wondered 
if he could possibly get through all that speeding 
traffic safely, and both girls sighed with relief 
when he reached the other curb. 

Close beside the Arc du Carrousel is a large 
statue of Lafayette, given to Paris by the children 
of the United States; and north of it is the Palais 
du Louvre, one of the great art galleries of the 
world. To the south lie the famous Tuileries Gar¬ 
dens. During the day this lovely park is usually 
full of children with their parents or nurses, for 
it is a fine place for them to play. In the evenings 
there is a band or orchestra concert, and the older 
people come to sit on the benches and listen. 

Private Kenworthy told the girls that long ago, 
when Paris was nothing more than a small settle¬ 
ment on an island in the River Seine, the site of 


132 


Ruth Visits Margot 


the Tuileries Gardens was a clay pit, from which 
the inhabitants got the clay for their pots and 
dishes. 

“I’ll take you over to look at the Seine sometime 
soon,” he promised, “so that you can see what that 
island is like now. The buildings on it are among 
the most interesting and historic in the city—the 
great Cathedral of Notre Dame is there, and one 
of the prisons where the French Revolutionists 
kept their prisoners.” 

At this point he noticed that the two girls were 
whispering together. “What’s up?” he asked. 

They smiled and said, “Nothing—only we’re so 
hungry. Can’t we go somewhere and get some¬ 
thing to eat?” 

Ruth’s father grinned. “Oh, we can do some¬ 
thing about that.” He stopped a passerby and 
asked for the name of a good place to eat. The 
man pleasantly directed them to a little restaurant 
on the Rue de Rivoli, and off they went. Margot 
and Ruth enjoyed the dainty food, but even more 
the fun of going to the counter and choosing for 
themselves the cakes they wanted. 

When all three had had a good luncheon they 
went out on to a street whose sign read Rue de 


The Girls See Paris 


133 


Castiglione; and Ruth’s father said he remembered 
having read that a great many persons famous in 
French history and literature had lived on this 
street. They passed a number of jewelry shops, 
whose windows contained such marvelous jewels 
as the two little girls had never dreamed existed. 
There were perfume shops, too. As they passed 
one of these, Ruth begged her father to let them 
go in—“just to see how good it would smell!” The 
shop was Coty’s, one of the most famous in the 
world. 

To the salesman who came forward to welcome 
them, Private Kenworthy said that they weren’t 
really customers—“they were just looking.” 

“And smelling!” Margot added mischievously, 
smiling up at the man. 

“Indeed, you are welcome to look, and to smell, 
as much as you like,” he assured them in perfect 
English, smiling back at Margot. “Let me show 
you some of our perfumes,” and he held out sev¬ 
eral tiny bottles, one after the other, for the two 
girls to sniff at appreciatively. 

After they had thanked him and left the shop, 
Ruth spoke of the pleasant manners of everybody 
they had talked to in Paris that day. 


134 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“Yes,” was Private Kenworthy’s comment. 
“Most Parisians are polite, the salespeople in the 
stores especially. Now here we are coming to the 
celebrated Opera House. This square is the Place 
del’Opera. See those people sitting over there at 
the tables on the sidewalk? That is the Cafe de la 
Paix. All over Paris people enjoy eating out in 
the open. I wonder if we ate too much lunch to 
have a cool drink here, or some ices? No? Yes? 
All right—I might know that you two would have 
some room left!” 

So they took chairs at one of the little iron tables, 
ordered some sodas, and proceeded to watch the 
crowds go by. Private Kenworthy told them that 
even in peacetime this cafe was famous for the 
number of different and interesting sorts of peo¬ 
ple one could watch from its sidewalk. He said 
that there was an old story to the effect that if you 
sat long enough at the Cafe de la Paix, everybody 
you knew in the world would come by sooner or 
later! And now that a war was just over, the scene 
was even more exciting on account of the many 
different uniforms to be noted on the various 
soldiers. Ruth and Margot started to count the 
different uniforms as they passed, but pretty soon 


The Girls See Paris 


135 


they had to give it up. “I can't count up to a 
million!” Ruth protested. 

The largest number of soldiers, of course, were 
the French, in their sky-blue uniforms. Now and 
again the girls identified an officer by the gold 
braid on his cap. The French “Blue Fellows” wore 
dark blue uniforms, with knickers instead of 
trousers, and berets of the same color. The Italians, 
some short and dark, had on high-crowned caps; 
others were big, blonde, handsome men with large 
plumes on the side of their hats. Dark Algerians 
wore red caps—the travelers had seen some of 
these at Nice. The British and Canadian uniforms 
looked much alike. The Scotch and some of the 
Canadians were picturesque in their kilts, with 
bare knees, swinging sporrans (a sort of big 
pocket-book or pouch that hangs from the belt), 
and Highland caps with ribbons. The Australians 
had wide felt hats turned up on one side. And 
there were, of course, any number of American 
soldiers and officers. 

Sometimes a small group of French cadets 
strolled by, with their baggy, bright-red trousers. 
At first Ruth thought that the policemen were 
soldiers, too, for they wore caps much like the 


136 


Ruth Visits Margot 


French soldiers, carried long, heavy swords, and 
had big, bristly moustaches, so that they looked 
quite fierce. The postmen, too, had bright-colored 
uniforms. 

“But, M’sieur Kenworthy,” begged Margot, 
“who are those Americans with the red bands 
around their hats and sleeves?” 

“Those,” he replied, “are military police. We 
call them M. P’s. They can arrest only Ameri¬ 
cans; but mostly, when our men are lost, they tell 
them how to get back to their hotels.” 

Besides the soldiers, there were many women 
at the little cafe tables. Some of the people were 
eating; others were drinking sodas. Inside, an 
orchestra was playing loudly enough so that those 
outside could hear the music. Suddenly the orches¬ 
tra began the Marseillaise —the national anthem 
of France. Everybody immediately jumped to his 
feet. One American jumped up so quickly that he 
tipped his little table over, and his food and coffee 
were spilled all over the sidewalk. Everybody 
wanted to laugh, of course, but nobody dared to 
until the music stopped. Then there was a great 
roar of laughter, the soldier himself joining in it. 

As they walked along a boulevard toward 


The Girls See Paris 


137 


L’Bglise de la Madeleine, (the Church of the 
Madeleine) Margot asked her friends to stop a 
moment. A woman and her little daughter had a 
push cart full of fruit, which they were offering 
for sale to the passersby. And, in the meantime, 
while business was dull, the child was preparing 
a meal over a little charcoal stove on the curb. 

“A picnic, right in the middle of Paris!” Ruth’s 
father exclaimed. 

In front of the Madeleine, he hailed a “June 
bug,” as the American soldiers called the little 
taxis, and directed the driver to take them through 
the boulevards and the Bois de Boulogne. After 
that, they were to go to the house of Margot’s 
aunt, where the girls were to stay. 

It is not surprising that both girls thought the 
Bois the most wonderful place they had ever seen. 
In this great park are over two thousand acres of 
trees, lawns, lakes with rowboats on them, and 
beautiful drives. Taxicabs, handsome carriages, 
and private automobiles are everywhere. The 
River Seine flows along one side of the Bois, and 
the girls noted several big ferry-boats. Some of 
the lakes are dotted with little islands; one of the 
islands has a restaurant on it. In fact, there are 


138 


Ruth Visits Margot 


several restaurants in the park, where people may 
sit out under the trees and have luncheon or 
dinner. 

And children—children everywhere in the Bois! 
Nowhere else in the world can one see sweeter, 
more prettily dressed, or happier children; or no¬ 
where else can they enjoy themselves more. And 
such a strange assortment of nurses! They come 
not only from all over France, but from other 
countries, too; while each seems to prefer her 
native costume. 

While in the park, Margot and Ruth rode in a 
little carriage drawn by goats. Then they rode 
little donkeys, much like those at Mentone; but, as 
Margot said, “Their ears are not so floppy!” There 
was a merry-go-round, too, and a puppet show, 
and a toy shop, and a lot of other things that the 
girls did not have time to see. How they did hate 
to leave the Bois! But Private Ken worthy warned 
them that it was getting late and that they must 
be off in another taxi to hunt up Margot’s aunt. 

Not very long after leaving the Bois, the taxicab 
drew up at the curb in front of a florist’s shop. 
Private Kenworthy thought there must be some 
mistake. 


The Girls See Paris 


139 


A neatly uniformed concierge came forward 
smiling, removed his cap, opened the cab door, and 
asked, “Que voulez-vous, Monsieur?” 

The soldier asked whether this was where 
Madame Pichaud lived. 

“Oui, oui, M’sieur—au troisieme!” the man re¬ 
plied, with a gesture up toward the fourth floor. 

They went inside and took the elevator, Private 
Kenworthy explaining to Ruth, on the way up, 
why the concierge had told them the third floor 
when really they were going to the fourth. 

“You see,” he said, “the French do not use the 
same system that we do for naming the different 
floors of a house. What we call the first floor, they 
call the rez-de-chaussee. Then they use the term 
‘first floor’ for the one above that—what we call 
‘second floor,’ and so forth. So when he told us 
that Margot’s aunt lives au troisieme, I knew he 
meant the fourth floor. Margot understands, al¬ 
ready, of course. Indeed, if she ever comes over 
to our country, Ruth, we’ll have to explain it all 
backwards to her!” 

“Daddy, why did you look surprised when the 
taxi-man stopped here?” 

“Oh, it was just that I hadn’t realized that the 


140 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Pichauds lived in an apartment house. I was ex¬ 
pecting to find them in a house of their own— 
that’s all.” 

Monsieur and Madame Pichaud were expecting 
Margot and her American friends and made them 
welcome at once. The evening meal was ready, 
and they were led into the small dining room, 
where the table was lighted only with candles. 
How prettily the glass and silverware glistened 
in the flickering candle-light! It was quite new to 
Ruth. How happy they all were! And how they 
enjoyed the home-cooked meal! 

After dinner Madame led the way into the little 
salon, where she now turned on the electric lights. 
Margot and Ruth looked about the room wonder- 
ingly. On one side of it was a very old, hand- 
carved canape, or sofa, covered with dark green 
material. Green upholstered chairs and small 
tables were scattered about. Nearly every table 
had a vase of flowers. Ruth went to smell some of 
them, only to discover that they were all made of 
paper, but so natural that she did not realize that 
they were imitation until she touched and smelled 
them! 

In one corner was an interesting object—a huge, 


The Girls See Paris 


141 


green-glazed box; Margot explained that it was a 
stove. A large Brussels rug covered the center 
of the floor, with several small braided rugs scat¬ 
tered about. There were two mirrors on the walls. 
They, too, were decorated with paper flowers. The 
large windows were set deeply in the thick wall; 
like doors they opened outward on hinges. 

Just outside of each was a box with flowers 
growing in it. In the winter another set of win¬ 
dows would be put up on the outside, with bags of 
straw laid between, to keep out the cold. But now 
the extra ones were down and packed away. Hand- 
crocheted curtains hung at these windows, with 
heavy silk draperies drawn aside to allow the light 
to enter during the day. 

Madame suggested a game of tape, which was 
played with a special kind of cards and was a little 
like our American game of “Authors.” Later, 
when the little group became tired of tape, 
Madame brought checkers, and they played an¬ 
other game called tric-trac. And so the evening 
passed until Madame thought it was time for the 
girls to go to bed. So Private Kenworthy bade 
them all goodnight and went to his hotel. 

Madame took the girls to their bedroom. The 


142 


Ruth Visits Margot 


bed was very high and large, with a feather mat¬ 
tress, many snowy covers, and a beautifully em¬ 
broidered spread. Over the bed was a great 
canopy that Ruth called a “tent.” The girls un¬ 
dressed, went to bed, and fell asleep speculating 
on the contents of the massive, hand-carved chest 
against the wall. Margot explained that this had 
been her aunt’s “hope-chest,” handed down 
through several generations, from mother to 
daughter. 


SIGHT SEEING AND SHOPPING IN PARIS 





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27 te lie de la Cite in the Seine 



Chapter 12 


HE next day was Sunday. In the morning 
Margot went to mass with her aunt and uncle, 
while Ruth and her father hunted up an American 


143 

























































144 


Ruth Visits Margot 


church. The latter part of the day was to be de¬ 
voted—by the three visitors—to a brief visit to the 
lie de la Cite in the Seine and a sight of the great 
cathedral of Notre Dame, the most famous build¬ 
ing on that island. 

In the afternoon, therefore, the two girls, with 
Private Kenworthy, crossed by the Pont Neuf 
(New Bridge) to the point where it joins the 
island, stopped for a moment to look at the statue 
of France’s beloved king, Henry the Fourth (of 
Navarre) and then went around to look at the 
front of the cathedral. Meanwhile their friend 
was telling the girls what he had read about Notre 
Dame; how it had been begun in the thirteenth 
century, on the site of an earlier Christian church; 
and how, during some alterations made five hun¬ 
dred years later, there had been found beneath its 
high altar the remains of an ancient pagan shrine 
that had occupied the same spot a thousand years 
before; showing that from the earliest times this 
had been a place of worship. In the present cathe¬ 
dral, many French kings and queens were mar¬ 
ried, were crowned, and came to give thanks for 
victories. It has been the scene of some of the 
most important events in French history. 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


145 


From the outside it is beautiful and imposing. 
The three stopped for a few moments to gaze up 
at the great fagade with awe and admiration. It 
was so high that it made the girls feel as though 
they had shrunk to the size of ants. They gazed 
up at the two big, square towers, the stone balcony, 
and the curious gargoyles of carved stone, part 
animal and part bird. 

But how much greater was their astonishment 
when they entered the cathedral! Its vast size im¬ 
pressed them first. It seemed dark as they came 
in from the bright sunshine, until their eyes got 
used to the dimness. The air was fragrant with 
incense. Candles lighted distant corners. Through 
the great, gorgeous windows of stained glass, rays 
of sunlight cut across the dark interior, chasing 
the shadows from the aisles and recesses and mak¬ 
ing the huge stone columns seem incredibly tall. 
For a little while the three wandered about the 
main body of the church, and then asked their way 
to the Treasury—the room where the sacred relics 
are kept. Margot, especially, wanted to see these 
things, since she already knew something about 
them. 

The guide whom they found in the Treasury 


146 


Ruth Visits Margot 


told them how that early and beloved King Louis 
the Ninth—Saint Louis—had brought home from 
the Holy Land what he and many others of his 
day thought to be the crown of thorns that Christ 
was made to wear, some pieces of the Cross, and 
one of the nails from it. He built a church espe¬ 
cially to hold these relics—Sainte Chapelle, also on 
the island—but they were later moved to Notre 
Dame; and here they are visited by thousands of 
devout persons who believe them to be genuine. 

Private Kenworthy asked the guide about the 
possibility of their climbing to the summit of the 
cathedral, to see the view of Paris from there. But 
when he and the girls were told that they would 
have to go up three hundred and ninety-seven 
spiral steps, they hastily decided that they “didn’t 
have time for that today!” And they really didn’t 
have much time, since they had taken so long to 
look at the interior of the cathedral. 

Now they wanted to see the Luxembourg Gar¬ 
dens, to which a bus took them through the bright 
afternoon sunshine. Here, especially on Sunday, 
one sees students from all over the world, who are 
in Paris attending the art schools and the Univer¬ 
sity. Here, too, is one of the most famous of French 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


147 


art galleries—the Luxembourg, containing the 
work of artists of our own day; older works being 
kept in the Louvre. But the gallery was so crowded 
when the American and the two girls tried to get 
in that he said they had better wait until another 
day to see the pictures there. 

After they had walked about the Gardens and 
looked at the trees, flowers, and the big stone lions, 
until Margot and Ruth were satisfied, he led the 
way to a nearby restaurant, where they could still 
see the fountain and pool. There were children 
here, too, but most of them were barefooted, with 
baskets of flowers to sell. Private Kenworthy 
bought small bunches of flowers from one of them, 
and remembering the little flower girl at Nice, he 
gave this little flower seller an extra franc, which 
surprised her greatly. 

He said he loved to loaf in the Paris parks, be¬ 
cause everybody was so happy in them. Here he 
could forget, for a while, that he would have to 
leave Paris soon, go back to his company, and to 
army life. 

The next day found the three in the Palais Royal 
Gardens. These gardens are much like the other 
Paris parks—great expanses of green grass, de- 


148 


Ruth Visits Margot 


lightful flowers, and pretty children. The Palais 
Royal was built in the seventeenth century by a 
great Churchman, Cardinal Richelieu. The king 
of France at the time was Louis the Thirteenth, 
but its real ruler was the mighty Cardinal who 
lived in this magnificent palace. Later he pre¬ 
sented it to the King; now it is used by the French 
Government. 

After lunch the soldier hailed a taxicab for their 
trip to the Hotel de Ville—which isn’t a hotel at 
all, but the city hall of Paris, and a very handsome 
building whose paintings and statues he wanted 
the girls to see. 

When they came out, a little brown taxicab was 
at hand, and the driver was asked to take them 
past the Trocadero with the big stone bull. They 
drove along the River Seine, past the big news¬ 
paper offices, theatres, and cafes, to the Musee 
Grevin. This proved to be a museum, but differ¬ 
ent from any that the girls had ever heard of be¬ 
fore. It was full of wax-work figures. They 
thought it great fun. There were wax figures of 
some of the best-known people in history, and also 
of notable men in the World War. The one of 
General Pershing looked so exactly like the Gen- 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


149 


eral, and so alive, that the soldier said he felt as 
though he should salute! There were several 
scenes from the life of Napoleon, and scenes from 
the French Revolution. These were so terrible 
that they made the girls shudder. When they had 
seen all that they wanted to see in the museum, it 
was time to go home. 

The next morning was rainy, so it was suggested 
that a short tour of the Louvre would be best. By 
the time they arrived there, however, the rain was 
over. Private Kenworthy hired a guide to show 
them only the most important things, because he 
knew that young girls are not much interested in 
so many paintings and statues. They could not 
possibly see everything anyway, for there are 
miles and miles of galleries in the Louvre; it would 
probably take months to see everything. The 
guide, of course, knew where the most important 
things were. 

First he led them to the Venus de Milo, probably 
the most famous statue in all the world, and cer¬ 
tainly one of the Louvre’s priceless treasures. This 
marble statue of Venus—called “of Milo” or “of 
Melos”—was found in a pile of rubbish on the 
island of Melos in the Aegean Sea in 1820, and 


150 


Ruth Visits Margot 


was given to the King of France, who in turn pre¬ 
sented it to the Louvre. Unhappily, the destruc¬ 
tive work of the centuries has robbed the lovely 
figure of its arms, but it remains still one of the 
most beautiful things left to us by the beauty- 
loving Greeks of ancient times. 

Another celebrated statue that was shown to 
them was the Winged Victory—the huge and im¬ 
pressive figure of her whom the Greeks called 
Nike , Victory, surging forward amid her floating 
draperies, the very spirit of triumph and power. 
During the ages since this statue was carved, it 
has been broken, like the Venus; there are no 
arms, and no head, but the great outstretched 
wings are fortunately intact. 

Among the celebrated paintings that they were 
shown were the portrait of “Mona Lisa” by 
Leonardo da Vinci and “The Angelus” by Millet. 
They saw many others that they wanted to stop 
and look at; but both girls were pretty tired by this 
time, and so was Private Kenworthy, so they de¬ 
cided to leave the Louvre. 

Out they went into the Place du Carrousel, with 
its big arch and its statue of Lafayette. Ruth’s 
father told the girls that, just about where they 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


151 


were standing then, the west wall of Paris used 
to rise, many centuries ago; for Paris was long a 
walled city, defended by fortifications and soldiers. 

Then he took them down some steps at a street 
corner, saying that they were going to ride on the 
“Metro.” Ruth couldn’t imagine what that meant, 
but she soon understood. Private Kenworthy went 
to a window and bought three tickets. Then a fast 
electric train came along, all three stepped aboard 
quickly, and the train whizzed on again. This was 
part of the Paris subway system—one of the best 
in the world. The French name for it is the Metro 
—short for Metropolitain. In some places the 
tracks are at two levels, and in at least one place 
there are three different levels. 

When they came up into the sunlight again, 
they were in the Place de la Bastille, where a ter¬ 
rible prison by that name used to stand. The 
exact site of the old Bastille is marked with white 
lines on the pavement. Every child in France 
knows the story of the fall of the Bastille, on July 
14, 1789, at tHe beginning of the French Revolu¬ 
tion. The French celebrate Bastille Day much as 
the people of the United States celebrate Inde¬ 
pendence Day. Some of the old stones that were 


152 


Ruth Visits Margot 


once in the Bastille have been used to build the 
bridge that crosses the River Seine from the 
Place de la Concorde. 

After their ride on the Metro, the girls thought 
they would like to walk a bit. They soon came to 
a street full of expensive shops, the Rue Saint- 
Honore. Ruth’s father said that they might “win¬ 
dow shop” for a while, but when Margot saw a toy 
store whose window was full of “just the loveliest 
dolls in the whole world,” she insisted on going in. 
But alas! everything was so expensive that the 
girls left without buying anything. But both of 
them had heard of another store they wanted to 
see—the great Magasins du Louvre. This has noth¬ 
ing to do with the famous art gallery; it is one of 
Paris’s largest department stores. It was not very 
far, so they decided to walk. Her aunt had told 
Margot, whose gloves had been spoiled in the rain¬ 
storm at Monte Carlo, that this store was an ex¬ 
cellent place to buy kid gloves; so Private Ken¬ 
worthy looked in his guidebook, and led the way. 

When they arrived at the store, they entered the 
building and squeezed through the crowds that 
were coming and going. Inside, while the girls 
were choosing their gloves, Ruth happened to 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


153 


glance down the long aisle and see the children’s 
dress department. That settled it! To both of 
them, new gloves suggested new dresses, espe¬ 
cially after they spied the pretty assortment that 
was displayed. So, much against his will Ruth’s 
father was dragged along between well-filled 
counters to where the daintiest of organdy frocks 
were shown them by a good-natured saleswoman. 
The girls were enraptured. 

“I didn’t know there were so many pretty clothes 
in the whole world!” Ruth exclaimed. 

Her father smiled indulgently while the excited 
girls fairly flew from one counter to another. “This 
is their first trip to Paris,” he told the salesgirl, 
“and they’re having fun just seeing everything.” 

“Let them look,” she replied in English. “I like 
to see children enjoy themselves. Girls love to see 
pretty things.” And she added, “The dolls are 
right down this aisle.” 

There was no stopping the girls now! Off they 
trotted in the direction of the dolls. For what girl 
could be close to a display of beautiful Parisian 
dolls and not want to see them? Little dolls, big 
dolls, and medium-sized dolls—in show-cases, on 
counters, and on shelves—oceans of them! Rubber 


154 


Ruth Visits Margot 


dolls that squeaked, baby dolls that said “Maman,” 
dolls that went to sleep, and dolls that walked. 
Dolls in long baby clothes, in short play frocks, in 
bathing suits, and even in evening gowns! Ruth, 
who had visited the biggest stores in New York, 
said she had never seen so many wonderful dolls 
before in her life. 

Private Kenworthy had been trying to study his 
guide-book; but Ruth would call, “Oh, Daddy, look 
at this one!” and then Margot would explode, 
“Isn’t this one the very sweetest doll you ever saw, 
M’sieur Kenworthy!” 

“Daddy, please look at this tiny doll in the 
cradle!” from Ruth. 

“And see this one in the pink sweater and white 
skirt!” Margot insisted. 

The guidebook had to go back into his pocket. 
Private Kenworthy bought each of them a baby 
doll that cried and closed its eyes. Then he looked 
at the watch on his wrist, and asked in a hungry 
tone, “When do we eat?”—a popular question 
among the American soldiers. 

“I think I am hungry enough to eat now,” smiled 
Margot, turning reluctantly from the fascinating 
show and cuddling her new doll in her arms. 


Ruth agreed that she, too, could eat something. 
So with one more regretful look behind them they 
prepared to leave the store. 

“I’ve just found directions to another cafe, girls. 
The guidebook tells some interesting facts about 
it. We can lunch there, and I’ll tell you about it 
while we eat. We are seeing as many interesting 
restaurants as we can. And, by the way, do you 
know,” he added as they left the store, “do you 
know that we are very near the spot where Joan 
of Arc was captured by the Burgundians?” 

Back they went to the Rue Saint-Honore, to the 
Cafe de la Regence. 

“Some of the greatest men in French history 
have eaten here,” he announced after they were 
seated at the small square table, “and some of the 
worst, too. That’s an interesting thing about 
Paris cafes—so many of them have histories. For 
instance, Napoleon used to come here to eat and 
play chess; other famous men, too. There is a 
story that says that Robespierre—he was a leader 
in the French Revolution—was once asked by a 
handsome young stranger to play chess here. 
Robespierre, being a great lover of the game, in¬ 
quired what the winner’s prize would be. The 


156 


Ruth Visits Margot 


stranger replied, ‘The life of a man!’ Robespierre 
agreed. His opponent won the game of chess, and 
the man’s life was saved. But the young stranger 
was a girl in man’s clothing, and she had played 
to save the life of her sweetheart!” 

“Oh, I’m so glad she won!” Margot and Ruth 
exclaimed together. 

After lunch he called another cab, and said to 
the driver, “To the Invalides, please.” 

When the party alighted from their cab they 
saw a high, iron-barred fence. They went through 
the gateway between white stone posts and were 
facing the two-story brown building with its tall, 
round, spired tower. The most interesting thing 
about the Invalides is that it contains the ashes of 
Napoleon (directly under the great dome). It 
was here that on the eighth day of February, 1800, 
Napoleon ordered services held to mourn the death 
of George Washington, for whom all the officers 
in the French Army wore mourning. It was here, 
too, that Napoleon found his own last resting 
place. In the main, and older, part of the building 
is the Eglise Saint Louis, or Church of Saint Louis, 
and a military and historical museum. 

The girls saw here the dining-car in which the 


Sight Seeing and Shopping in Paris 


157 


Armistice had been signed on November 11 of the 
year before—1918. Margot was greatly interested 
in the things that used to belong to Napoleon; 
while Ruth and her father spent some time look¬ 
ing at the ancient armor and weapons. By this 
time, however, all of them were tired, and the 
girls welcomed Private Kenworthy’s suggestion 
that they must be going back to dinner at Madame 
Pichaud’s. 


IN WHICH THEY GO TO VINCENNES 



They took the steamer back 


Chapter 13 

HE following morning Private Kenworthy 
remembered that he had promised to take Margot 
and Ruth to the Luxemburg Museum before they 
left Paris. So out they went once more. All of the 

158 

















In Which They go to Vincennes 


159 


pictures and statues in the Luxemburg are by liv¬ 
ing, or recently living, painters and sculptors. This 
Museum is not large, so the three soon found them¬ 
selves out in the sunshine again. 

Then to the Pantheon, another art gallery, which 
both girls enjoyed much more, because so many of 
the paintings show scenes from French history. 
The Pantheon is built upon a hill, and has a beauti¬ 
ful, tall dome and a spire. The lower part of the 
dome is surrounded by a circle of white pillars. 
The front of the building has massive pillars that 
reach to the roof. The Pantheon was originally 
built as a church, in honor of Sainte Genevieve. 
“Seeing these paintings and taking home the post 
card pictures of them will be a big help to me in 
studying my history,” Margot said. 

“Who was Sainte Genevieve?” Ruth wanted to 
know. 

“Sainte Genevieve,” her father replied, “became 
a nun when she was very young. She lived nearly 
fourteen hundred years ago, having been born in 
the year 422. The legend tells how, when the people 
who lived here then—the Franks, they were called 
—were threatened with invasion, Genevieve led 
them to victory. The invading enemy was the im- 


160 


Ruth Visits Margot 


mense tribe of Huns who were coming across 
Europe from their homeland in Asia, laying waste 
all of central Europe under the commands of the 
fierce Attila, their leader. 

“But when they reached the land of the Franks, 
Genevieve—according to the story—gathered the 
people of this little town on the Seine, got them to 
arm themselves with bows and arrows, clubs, 
knives, sickles tied to poles, and all sorts of other 
crude weapons. Then she led them against Attila’s 
Huns and drove them out of France.” 

Here in the Pantheon they saw scenes from the 
life of Sainte Genevieve painted on the walls. An¬ 
other of these mural paintings shows Attila with 
part of his army. 

“Who was Clovis?” asked Margot, after she had 
seen a marble statue of him, and a painting of his 
baptism. 

“Clovis,” her big friend responded, “was one of 
the early kings of the Franks. His wife, Clotilde, 
had been converted to Christianity and, of course, 
was anxious that her husband should be a Chris¬ 
tian, too. But Clovis still held to the old pagan 
religion of the country. Then there came a day 
when he was getting ready for a big battle with 


In Which They go to Vincennes 


161 


the Romans, and he was afraid that he might not 
win. So he told Clotilde that if he won the battle 
he, too, would become a Christian. Clotilde then 
prayed for his success, and her prayers were 
answered—Clovis won the battle. 

“He kept his promise and was baptized on 
Christmas Day in 495, by the bishop. Then, of 
course, Clotilde was happy. Clovis was so earnest 
in his newly adopted religion that he ordered all of 
his three thousand soldiers, and all of their wives 
and children, to be baptized, too. That is how 
France became a Christian nation.” 

“What did you say his wife’s name was, M’sieur 
Kenworthy?” Margot asked. 

“Clotilde.” 

“Clotilde,” Margot repeated. “I shall name my 
new doll Clotilde.” 

“Well,” laughed her escort, “she should be a very 
good doll, with that name. And here,” he said, “is 
a picture of the crowning of Charlemagne, on 
Christmas Day, 800. He was called by some ‘The 
Emperor of the World,’ although, of course, he was 
only Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire—which 
in those days was all of civilized Europe. Charle¬ 
magne had a great army, and liked war. He was 


162 


Ruth Visits Margot 


very powerful, and every time he captured any 
prisoners, he ordered his soldiers to drive them 
down into a river. Then his soldiers waded out 
among the captives and ducked their heads under 
the water. That was Charlemagne’s way of baptiz¬ 
ing them.” 

The three looked around at the murals and 
statues of Saint Louis, Joan of Arc, and other 
great French men and women that are to be seen. 
Then they went out again into the fresh air and 
sunshine. 

In his useful guidebook Private Ken worthy had 
learned that it was possible to find the ruins of an 
old Roman arena, a relic of the centuries when 
Paris was a Roman colony. And this was the next 
thing on his program for the girls. They all agreed 
that the arena was probably much better in ruins, 
since it had been the scene of so much cruelty. 
For the Romans, spectacles and fights took the 
place of our moving pictures and plays—contests 
in the arena between strong men called gladiators, 
or between gladiators and lions or merely wild 
animals; and the more fierce and brutal the fights 
were, the more the Romans loved them. 

Now Ruth’s father called a passing fiacre, which 


In Which They go to Vincennes ^ ^ ^ 163 

is a horse-drawn cab, and directed the driver to 
take them to the Square du Temple. 

“This is where the big, tall castle of the Knights 
Templar used to stand,” he said. “The Knights 
of the Temple were a large and powerful order— 
a sort of association—during the Middle Ages, 
handed together in the first place to care for the 
sick, wounded, and disabled. The order was 
founded in the Holy Land during either the First 
or the Second Crusade; and after the Second Cru¬ 
sade—in 1148—a number of knights came to Paris 
and built the Temple of the order on this spot. 
They owned several hundred acres here, and it 
was at that time outside of the walled limits of 
the city.” He stopped, noticing that Ruth had a 
question ready. 

“What were the Crusades?” she asked. 

“Well, to explain them I’ll have to begin pretty 
far back. The Holy Land— Palestine—where 
Christ lived, had for a long time been in the hands 
of the pagan Saracens, and the Christian people 
in Europe thought that this was wrong; it ought 
to be owned by Christians who would reverence 
the places associated with Christ’s life. So in 1096 
men went about preaching the need of a great 


164 


Ruth Visits Margot 


army to go to the Holy Land and take it from the 
Saracens. The kings and lords and knights, as 
well as the people themselves, got very enthusi¬ 
astic and started out on the First Crusade. The 
name comes from the cross that each Crusader 
wore on his sleeve. Most of the Crusades were un¬ 
successful; there were nine of them, the last one 
being led by Saint Louis of France. And it was 
during one of the early expeditions that some of 
the knights banded together to take care of the 
wounded Crusaders. Then afterwards, the Knights 
of the Temple had their building here. Now we 
are going to take a Metro train again, to go to the 
Bois de Vincennes.” 

Bois, of course, means “wood,” but in Paris it 
also means a park. Private Kenworthy had read 
in his guidebook of a cozy little place to eat there. 
Sure enough, beside the lake they found a most 
delightful restaurant. The three sat down in one 
of the little rustic summer houses, all alone except 
for the friendly ducks that came waddling in 
single file, quacking and wagging their pointed 
tails, to beg for crumbs. The girls had great fun 
feeding them. 

In the Bois de Vincennes there are over two 


In Which They go to Vincennes 


165 


thousand acres of land, with a lake, and two 
islands. Within the grounds stands a large build¬ 
ing or chateau. There is a big prison attached to 
it, and a beautiful old chapel. 

Saint Louis, King Louis the Ninth, who was a 
very good and kind king, used to sit here in the 
shade of an old oak tree to listen to the troubles 
and complaints of his people. Margot and Ruth 
walked past the pyramid that marks the spot 
where the King’s Oak used to stand. Then they 
crossed a big drill-ground, toward where the 
River Marne meets the Seine. 

Margot thought it would be good sport to take 
the steamer back. So they went aboard the little 
double-decked boat. The trip was delightful. The 
banks of the Seine are fascinating, and their route 
took them past the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, 
the great Ferris Wheel, and other interesting 
places that they enjoyed looking at on their way 
home. 


VERSAILLES—WHERE HISTORY 
HAS BEEN MADE 




The beautiful gardens of Versailles 


Chapter lJ t 

HE next morning the three went aboard 
an electric train at the Gare des Invalides, one of 
the most famous railway stations of Paris, and 



166 



















Versailles—Where History Has Been Made 167 


they were at Versailles in about half an hour. The 
town of Versailles was first built by King Louis 
XIII in the seventeenth century, and was enlarged 
by Louis XIV to dazzle the world with its splendor, 
and to attract all the powerful nobles of France to 
him for political reasons. This pleasure-loving 
king wanted to be the greatest and wealthiest 
monarch in the whole world. And the palace is 
larger than any building that Americans are 
likely to see in their own country. It is one of the 
most beautiful of all royal palaces in Europe. 

Of course, Ruth’s father and the two girls could 
not begin to see all the rooms in the palace, or even 
all the things that there were to marvel at in the 
rooms they did see. But they managed to walk 
through—or at least peep at—some of the apart¬ 
ments where kings and queens had lived, an opera 
hall and a chapel and a billiard room, an indoor 
tennis court, ball room, a throne room, and several 
art galleries. 

One place Private Kenworthy especially wanted 
them to see—the great Hall of Mirrors, because it 
had only a few weeks before been the scene of the 
signing of the peace treaty that ended the War. 
In this same room, nearly fifty years before, there 


168 


Ruth Visits Margot 


had been another historic event; when the Prus¬ 
sians had captured Paris during the Franco-Prus- 
sian War. 

It was here that the great German chancellor 
Bismarck had met the officials of the defeated 
French and had announced the formation of the 
new German Empire. The same place was chosen, 
early in 1919, for the signing of the Treaty of 
Versailles, which ended the World War; so that 
Ruth and her father saw where President Wilson 
and other great men had sat during the important 
proceedings. 

Then they went out to walk around the beautiful 
gardens of Versailles, with their lawns, flower 
beds, walks, drives, fountains, and statues. After 
lunch at a little restaurant, they took the train 
back to Paris to the Trocadero, another art gallery. 
The best place to view it from is under the Eiffel 
Tower. The Trocadero is a round building, with 
two slim, square towers. In front of it is a foun¬ 
tain and pool, and a big stone statue of a bull. 
Margot said that the building and the grounds 
were very pretty, but that she had seen so many 
art museums in Paris that by now she would rather 
see something else for a change! So Private Ken- 


Versailles—Where History Has Been Made 169 


worthy showed her the big statue of George Wash¬ 
ington on his horse,—the statue given to Paris by 
the women of the United States. 

Near here, they had a closer view of the “Great 
Wheel”—the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world; 
but they were too busy, today, to bother with that. 
There was something else more important—the 
Eiffel Tower. 

This tower can be seen from all over Paris, for 
it is 984 feet high—at one time the tallest structure 
in the world. (It has, of course, by now been sur¬ 
passed, in our own country, by both the Chrysler 
and the Empire State buildings in New York City. 
The latter building is 1,250 feet high.) Both of the 
girls wanted to go to the top of it, and Ruth s 
father said they could. There are stairways and 
elevators, or lifts, by which to reach the top. The 
first landing is 190 feet from the ground, and here 
there is a restaurant and a theatre. It was now 
getting late in the afternoon, so the friends 
stopped in the restaurant for sandwiches. The 
second landing or platform is 380 feet from the 
ground. Here there are several stores and a bar¬ 
ber shop. This landing also contains a huge clock 
which is lighted at night. The large steel pillars 


170 


Ruth Visits Margot 


of the tower rise closer and closer together, until 
at the top they meet. About halfway between the 
second landing and the top is a platform on which 
to stand while viewing Paris. Under the big 
double lantern, which is at the very top, is another 
smaller floor with more shops, and a glassed-in 
balcony. Private Kenworthy had to pay ten francs 
(about two dollars at that time) for their ride on 
the lift to the top; though it would have cost just 
as much if they had walked up. 

What a wonderful view they had from the glass- 
enclosed platform! More than fifty miles in every 
direction, for it was a clear day. Paris looked like 
a great park spread out below, with all its trees, 
monuments, arches, and buildings. At first, the 
great height made the girls feel dizzy, but they 
soon became used to it, and were sorry to have to 
come down to the ground again. 

And so the days of their Paris visit sped by, with 
new sights to interest the girls every day, until 
there came a morning when Private Kenworthy 
greeted them with, “Well girls, this is our last day 
in Paris. What would you most like to see?” 

“Oh, M’sieur Kenworthy,” Margot exclaimed, 
“isn’t it too bad that we have to leave?” Though—” 


Versailles—Where History Has Been Made 171 


she added, “I shall be glad to see Mother again.” 

“Yes, I’ll be sorry to say good-bye to Paris, my¬ 
self. But now, how would you like to see the Pan¬ 
theon de la Guerre?”* he asked. 

“Oh yes,” she replied, “my uncle told me that we 
should see that, but I forgot it.” 

For some reason the Pantheon de la Guerre was 
not in his guidebook. But Margot’s aunt said it 
was at 148 Rue de l’Universite, and told them 
which Metro line to take. 

The Pantheon de la Guerre is housed in a per¬ 
fectly round building, with no windows; all the 
light comes through the glass roof. The inside 
wall contains just one continuous painting, or 
mural, of the Great War. It pictures the famous 
battles, the most important cities and towns, and 
the roads leading to them; the various branches 
of the armies and navies of the Allies; the best- 
known of the Allied leaders, including those who 
took part in the Peace Conference at Versailles. In 
fact every person and every event of importance 
connected with the Great War is in the picture. 
Fortunately, at the time when he and the girls 
were there, they had the place all to themselves 

-*The" Pantheon de la Guerre was later exhibited at other places. It was 

shown at A Century of Progress Exhibition, Chicago—1933 and 1934. 



172 


Ruth Visits Margot 


and could study the picture as much as they 
wished. Both girls were greatly interested and 
asked many questions, which he did his best to 
answer. Altogether, when they returned to 
Madame Pichaud’s in the afternoon, they decided 
that they had spent their last day in Paris very 
profitably. 

The next morning, after bidding farewell to 
Margot’s hospitable relatives and to Paris, they 
took the train for Bourmont, Private Kenworthy 
saying as they left the city behind them: “Well, 
this is called the ‘Capital of the World,’ and I 
think it deserves the title. Paris must be the most 
beautiful big city on earth, and the most interest¬ 
ing one to live in. How many wonderful and his¬ 
toric buildings and spots we three have seen! And 
there are a lot that we did not see, you know. Then, 
too, there are other places that will not interest 
you until you are older. I hope that you both can 
go back to Paris again some time, don’t you?” 

“Yes, and with you, too, M’sieur Ken worthy,” 
Margot answered. 

“I wish that every girl, and boy, too, in the 
United States could come to France, and see 
Paris,” Ruth declared. 


RUTH AND MARGOT VISIT VOID 



Margot and Ruth in Void 


Chapter 15 

TORTT.Y after his return to Bourmont 
from the Paris vacation, Private Kenworthy was 
transferred for duty to a prisoner-of-war camp in 
Void, Department of Meuse. Margot’s eyes filled 



173 




























174 


Ruth Visits Margot 


when he told the girls that he must go, and big, 
salty tears trickled down Ruth’s pink cheeks. 
Again he had decided to leave her with Madame 
Pucelle at Bourmont. But he dug down into his 
big pocket, pulled out a map of Prance, unfolded 
it, and showed them that he was really not going 
far, after all. 

“And I shall return to Bourmont as often as I 
can get a pass, girls,” he told them. 

“Please write to us often, Daddy.” 

“I will, Ruth.” 

The morning that Private Kenworthy was to 
leave, Margot walked with Ruth down the long, 
steep Bourmont hill to the camp, to bring him a 
photograph that they had had taken together in 
St. Thibault, a surprise farewell gift. 

“Thank you, so much, girls,” he exclaimed, gaz¬ 
ing at the small photograph. “I shall keep it al¬ 
ways, and love it, too.” 

Captain Brown and Private Kenworthy loaded 
their baggage into a light army truck. The cap¬ 
tain had a trunk, a fat bed-roll, and a small roll. 
The private had his pack and barrack-bag. They 
climbed into the back of a big ambulance, Private 
Kenworthy waved good-bye to Margot, Ruth, 


Ruth and Margot Visit Void 


175 


and the soldiers, and away he went, in a cloud 
of dust. 

True to his promise, Ruth’s father wrote often 
and made several trips to Bourmont to see them. 
Madame Pucelle kept a room always ready for 
him. By this time he was quite used to French 
beds, though two years before they had seemed 
very queer to him. This one at Madame Pucelle’s 
was so high that he had to climb into it; and then 
he sank way down, almost out of sight. There 
were two big, thick, soft feather mattresses on it, 
besides several quilts. In the summer, one is sup¬ 
posed to sleep on top of both mattresses, but in 
the winter one crawls between them. 

But one thing did surprise him, on his Bourmont 
visits—the clean night shirt and slippers laid out 
ready for him. Soldiers on duty had no time for 
night shirts or pajamas, for when one must dress 
in five minutes, especially with wrap leggings, one 
must hurry; but on these visits to Bourmont he 
had plenty of time, so he wore the night shirt. 
Each night he would open the big windows, blow 
out the candle, climb up into the big high bed, 
sink down—and sleep! 

Margot and Ruth had a bed downstairs in the 


176 


Ruth Visits Margot 


living room, but he would not have known it was 
there if Margot had not shown him. She opened 
a cupboard, pulled down a folding shelf, and— 
there was a neat little bed, all ready to crawl into. 

Private Kenworthy’s visits to Ruth were often 
due to the kindness of that Captain Brown whom 
the two girls had met when Ruth’s father went 
off to Void. Captain Brown, too, had friends in 
Bourmont, and when he came to visit them he 
would bring Private Kenworthy with him. All 
this led to still another adventure for the two girls. 

One day, when Captain Brown was coming to 
Bourmont he ordered an ambulance for the trip, 
because he had official business in Bourmont any¬ 
way, and told Private Kenworthy to come along. 
The two men went directly to Madame Pucelle’s 
house and Captain Brown was introduced to her 
and once again met the two little girls. Ruth’s 
father was full of a new idea—he wanted to have 
Ruth return to Void with him, to see what life in 
a military camp was like; and he asked whether 
Margot might come with her. 

Madame Pucelle thought it was a fine idea, but 
she wanted to know where the girls would stay. 
At that, Captain Brown spoke up and said that 


Ruth and Margot Visit Void 


177 


there was room in the house of some French peo¬ 
ple with whom he was living 1 , and that the girls 
would be well taken care of. So it was settled, and 
the party started off for Void. 

It was only a few hours’ drive, for the French 
roads are good. On the way, Margot pointed out 
to Captain Brown the fine old castle that she and 
Private Kenworthy had visited. She told the cap¬ 
tain about the prince, and how kind he had been 
to them. As they passed through Domremy, they 
stopped, and all four of them visited the house of 
Joan of Arc, and the old church, bought some post¬ 
card pictures, and hurried on again. 

Ruth was very glad to see the place her father 
had told her so much about. When they arrived 
in Void it was dark, so the Captain took Margot 
and Ruth to supper with him, and said that they 
must go to bed directly afterwards. 

Private Kenworthy and his “buddy,” Corporal 
Bob Isben, being the only medical men in camp 
besides Captain Brown, were free from most of the 
camp rules. They got up later than the other men, 
cooked their own breakfasts, and (what was more 
important) chose their own food—usually from 
the officers’ supplies. So, the following morning, 


178 


Ruth Visits Margot 


early, Ruth’s father had a little quiet talk with his 
friend, the mess-sergeant. Then he called for the 
girls. They were ready; and he proudly led them 
to the camp kitchen. 

The officers’ table had been freshly scoured— 
for the officers had already eaten—and was as 
clean as a new rolling-pin. Two white plates, cups, 
and saucers, knives, forks, and spoons, were at 
one end of the table. Chairs carefully covered with 
clean cooks’ aprons made it plain that the places 
were set for the girls. Bob was waiting for them. 
He, too, had known Margot and Ruth at Bour- 
mont, and was glad to see them again. 

Bob already had a pot of hot chocolate ready. 
Both men had their own mess-kits (oval aluminum 
containers that closed up, with knife, fork, and 
spoon inside, and handle folded over). To open a 
mess-kit, you banged its edge on the corner of the 
stove. The things inside jangled and clattered and 
made a lot of noise, but nobody paid any attention. 

The men filled their mess-cups (strange-looking 
cups that just fitted over the bottoms of their can¬ 
teens) with coffee, and set them on the stove to 
heat. Then four big, thick, juicy pork chops went 
onto the stove to broil, and several slices of good 


Ruth and Margot Visit Void 


179 


white bread to toast. Private Kenworthy put a 
can of condensed milk, sugar, and butter on the 
table, and they were ready to eat. 

“Well, Margot,” said Ruth’s father, “this is not 
so good as your mother would give us if we were 
in Bourmont, but it is a lot better than most of the 
soldiers are getting.” 

“But this is such fun!” exclaimed Margot. “And 
it is good, really! What do the other soldiers have 
for their breakfast?” 

Here Bob spoke up. “Cold, greasy bacon, poor 
coffee, and phonograph records,” he said. 

“Phonograph records?” Margot was puzzled. 

“Well, of course,” he admitted, “not real phono¬ 
graph records, but they might as well be when 
they make those pancakes so tough we can’t eat 
them. Oh yes, and we have prunes, too!” 

“And what do they have at noon?” Ruth ques¬ 
tioned. 

“Well,” Bob replied, “usually canned corned 
beef or goldfish, all cooked up to make it look like 
something that it isn’t.” 

“Goldfish!” gasped Ruth. 

“Bob means canned salmon,” her father said, 
grinning. 


180 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“Oh, and what do they have at night?” she 
wanted to know. 

“Well,” said Bob, “if they had corned beef at 
noon, they have goldfish at night; but if they had 
goldfish at noon, they have corned beef at night— 
and maybe beans, and, of course, plenty of pota¬ 
toes, bread, and coffee. No so bad—the first ten 
years are said to be the hardest.” 

“Who makes the rounds this morning, Bob?” 
asked Kenworthy. 

“You’re supposed to,” Bob replied, “but if you 
have something planned with the girls, I’ll be glad 
to take your place.” 

“No, thanks, Bob; I think the Captain will allow 
them to go along with us.” And turning, he asked, 
“How would you like to go through the prison 
stockade with us on inspection and sick-call this 
morning, girls?” 

“But do you mean that we are to go near those 
terrible Boches?” Margot exclaimed anxiously. 

“These Boches are not a bit terrible, Margot,” he 
replied. “These men are German prisoners, but 
they are not different from the rest of us, you will 
find. Bob and I have a German boy who comes 
over every morning to make up our bunks and 


Ruth and Margot Visit Void 


181 


shine our shoes. A German tailor made these 
breeches for me, another put this design on this 
match-box; another made me a fine walking-stick; 
and sometimes when I get hungry, I go to the Ger¬ 
man mess-sergeant, and he gives me a big piece 
of coffee cake. Anybody that can make such good 
food just cant be bad! 

“Really, Margot, they are not bad men. They 
had to be soldiers, and go to war, because the 
Kaiser made them do it. But most of them didn’t 
want to fight and hurt people any more than the 
French did, or the British, or the Americans.” 

He led the way back to the house, to call for the 
Captain. He made a brisk salute, bringing his 
heels together with a click, and the edge of the 
fingers of his right hand to his right eyebrow, his 
left hand held stiffly at his side. He was always 
very formal while on duty. 

“Private Kenworthy reporting for duty, sir, and 
may I take Margot and Ruth with us on inspec- 
tion?” 

“They may go, if they will not be afraid of the 
prisoners,” the Captain replied, smiling. 

“I’ve told the girls that the Germans would not 
hurt them, sir.” 


182 


Ruth Visits Margot 


The Captain led the way. A guard saluted, 
lowered his rifle, and unlocked the big gate to let 
them through. Margot shivered, and clung closely 
to her big friend, but Ruth was sure it was all right 
—her father was along! Just before the Captain 
came to each group of prisoners, Private Kenwor¬ 
thy cried hoarsely, “Attention!” 

The prisoners straightened up, clicked their 
heels together, clapped their hands to their sides, 
and grunted loudly as they threw out their chests. 
This was the German manner of coming to atten¬ 
tion when an officer passed. Most of these pris¬ 
oners were dressed in their own German uniforms. 
These were of greenish gray wool, with heavy, 
knee-high boots and little round caps. The Ger¬ 
man corporals and sergeants had short visors on 
their caps; the privates’ caps were without visors. 
Each cap had a little round colored button on the 
front of it. Many of these men wore on their 
chests the Iron Cross the German medal for brav¬ 
ery; it is a black Maltese cross of iron hanging 
from a short, black ribbon. Those who had lost 
their clothes, or whose clothes had worn out, were 
dressed in American uniforms, with a big P. W. 
(Prisoner of War) painted on the back of their 


Ruth and Margot Visit Void 


183 


coats with white paint. Some who could afford it 
had had cloth sent from Germany, and had prison 
tailors make them neat, new uniforms. 

When they went through the German kitchen, 
Ruth’s father whispered to the mess-sergeant. 

“dal Ja!” was the whispered reply. He tiptoed 
to a cupboard, opened it quietly, and handed the 
girls each a big piece of coffee cake with brown 
sugar on top. He put a finger to his lips, said 
“Sh-h-h” and winked one eye with a funny smile. 
They accepted the present with thanks, and fol¬ 
lowed the soldiers. 

The Captain led the way through a shop where 
some of the prison tailors were making and re¬ 
pairing clothes. German carpenters were building 
shelves to put over the men’s bunks, and boxes to 
pack their things in when they should be sent 
home. Other Germans were making vases out of 
empty brass cannon-shells. They hammered beau¬ 
tiful designs on them. 

Since the Armistice, these German prisoners 
could send letters home and receive letters and 
packages from their friends. Most of them seemed 
to be contented, and almost happy, for they were 
well treated, and did not have to work hard. 


MORE ADVENTURES 



The castle at Vaucouleurs 



Chapter 16 

HE GERMAN prisoners lived comfortably 
in wooden barracks, surrounded by a high barbed- 
wire fence, at the sides of which guards marched 
night and day, with shouldered rifles. Besides 


184 

















More Adventures 


185 


their living quarters, these prisoners had their 
orderly-room (office), a little store, mess hall, 
kitchen, shops, and a theatre that they built for 
themselves, with stage, drop-curtains, and scen¬ 
ery. In their stockade (or big yard) they had set 
up a trapeze, hanging rings, horizontal bar, paral¬ 
lel bars, and a basket ball court. The American 
guards were camped outside of the stockade. 

There were four hundred German prisoners 
within the guarded part of the camp, a guard com¬ 
pany of eighty-five men, three medical men— 
Private Kenworthy, Bob, and the ambulance 
driver—and three officers. Some of the prisoners 
were out, under guard, repairing roads. Margot 
saw ten of the prisoners, each man with a towel 
on his left arm; they were marching in single file 
with the curious “goose-step” of the German army. 
A guard with shouldered rifle marched at each 
end of the file. Ruth’s father told the girls that 
the men were going to the river to bathe. 

“They do not look like bad men, do they, M’sieur 
Kenworthy?” Margot commented as they passed. 

“They are not bad men, Margot,” he replied. 
“But let us walk about Void a bit. Come on, Ruth 
dear.” 


186 


Ruth Visits Margot 


They walked past the house where Captain 
Brown lived. It looked big and gloomy and barn¬ 
like, for there were few windows on the two sides 
that faced the streets. There was a big garden, 
however, enclosed by a high stone wall. Ruth’s 
father had permission to visit the garden when¬ 
ever he wished, and he often came here to read 
and to write letters. 

There was a small rustic summer house in one 
corner, a fountain, trees, flowers, and grass. A 
brook ran through it, just inside the back wall. 
Seats and small tables were scattered about in 
shady spots. The sides of the house that faced in 
the garden had plenty of large windows and bal¬ 
conies, too. Altogether, the garden was a lovely 
place to sit. Many of these beautiful gardens are 
hidden behind high stone walls in France, for the 
people like these quiet places. 

But Margot and Ruth had no time for the gar¬ 
den now. Near the post office and telegraph of¬ 
fice, which are in the same building in Void—both 
being owned by the Government—is the Place 
Cugnot. This is a large, bare square, surrounded 
by a low stone wall, with gates on each side, and 
two or three rows of trees planted closely together. 


More Adventures 


187 


In the centre, and up three round steps, is a pretty 
fountain. In the middle of it stands a stone statue 
of an ancient Greek woman with a water jar on 
her right shoulder, and another held at her left 
hip. This is where the women of Void gather each 
morning and evening with their pitchers, to get 
the family water supply and to talk with their 
neighbors. And in this square the children love 
to play. 

Not far from the fountain is a great monument 
with a bronze statue of Monsieur Cugnot, one of 
the pioneers in the manufacture of automobiles; 
though the automobile shown on the bronze 
plaque does not look like an automobile at all. It 
ran by steam, and would look very odd indeed 
today. 

A pretty canal winds through Void. The rivers 
and canals of France are used much more than 
those in the United States. Whenever possible, 
lumber, coal, grain, and other bulky materials are 
moved by water instead of by rail. Sometimes ten 
or more big barges are loaded, tied together, and 
towed by little steam tugs. 

Sometimes the barges go through separately, 
or two or three together, towed by horses hitched 


188 


Ruth Visits Margot 


tandem and walking along a narrow path at the 
side of the canal. Each barge has a family living 
aboard—a man to take care of the boat, his wife, 
the children, and always a dog. These people live 
very comfortably, always traveling about, all over 
France, and sometimes up into Belgium and 
Holland. 

One such boat was tied up here at the bank. The 
children and dogs were swimming in the canal. 
The boatman’s wife was washing clothes at the 
edge of the water; and the man was loafing over 
the rail, whittling, and letting the shavings fall 
overboard. 

“Will you ask the man if we may come aboard 
and see his boat, Margot?” her soldier friend 
suggested. 

Margot did so, and the man seemed pleased that 
they took so much interest in his boat. He led 
them down into the cabin. An oil stove stood in 
the little kitchen, and along the wall were glisten¬ 
ing pans. In the comfortable living room was a 
wood-burning stove and a small folding table with 
a couple of books and newspapers. The bunks 
folded against the wall; everything could be 
folded—bunks, tables, and chairs. The two small 


















More Adventures 


191 


windows were hung with neat white curtains, and 
in front of each hung a caged canary. 

Lanterns were suspended from hooks in the 
ceiling. All of the walls, floors, and furniture ap¬ 
peared freshly painted, and the metal work shone 
brightly. The man invited his visitors to sail a 
little distance with them the next day; he sug¬ 
gested that they could go just a few miles, and 
walk back or maybe catch a ride. Ruth’s father 
thanked him and said that they might do so. 

Margot and Ruth ate a hasty lunch in a cafe, 
and returned to camp just in time to get an am¬ 
bulance ride to Vaucouleurs. The driver had busi¬ 
ness in that town, but was in no great hurry. So 
just before they arrived in Vaucouleurs, Private 
Kenworthy asked him to stop and park the car. 
He then led the way across a field, and down a hill, 
to the ruins of a large old castle of gray stone. 

“Well, girls,” he asked, “do you know where you 
are now?” 

“No,” Margot replied frankly. “Do youV’ 

“I think I do. Do you remember I told you that 
Joan of Arc begged her uncle to take her to Vau¬ 
couleurs to see the Governor?” 

“Oh, yes!” exclaimed Margot, excitedly. 


192 


Ruth Visits Margot 


“This he continued, “is supposed to be the old 
castle of that Governor of Vaucouleurs. I mean 
the man who gave Joan her first suit of armor and 
her sword. And it was the people of Vaucouleurs, 
you remember, who bought her the beautiful, big 
horse.” 

“How wonderful to be here!” Ruth exclaimed. 
“Just think-!” 

“Yes—and how wonderful it would be,” her 
father went on, “if we could start from here and 
follow the Maid’s course, all the way, through 
Rheims, to Rouen! What interesting sights we’d 
see!” 

That evening, after they had returned to Void, 
the girls had an early meal in a restaurant near 
camp, for they were to go inside the stockade that 
night—a pass had been obtained for them. As 
they walked through the wide gate, it was grow¬ 
ing dusk, and the lights were already lit. The four 
entered the German theatre. The mess-sergeant 
saw Margot, and said something to her smilingly 
in German. Margot did not understand, but Bob 
told her that the German wanted to know if the 
coffee cake was good. Then Margot recognized 
him, and thanked him in English. 


More Adventures 


193 


“Ach, ja, ja!” the prisoner replied, as he led them 
to seats near the stage. 

They were early, but the men had thought the 
girls would like to see the theatre before the lights 
went out for the performance. There were a few 
American soldiers there; not to guard, but just to 
see the acting and listen to the music. A sixteen- 
piece orchestra came out from under the stage, 
and prepared to play. Most of their instruments 
had been sent from Germany since the Armistice. 
The conductor had led a big orchestra in Germany 
before the War. The entire group were good 
musicians. Their opening piece was The Beautiful 
Blue Danube. 

Then the curtain went up. All the talking and 
singing, of course, was in German. Bob was able 
to tell his friends most of what was said, but he 
did not have time to translate it all. Some of the 
acting was good, and some very funny. A few of 
the men had to be dressed as women; these wore 
wigs,—and did very well. A “strong man” tore 
big sou pieces in two—copper pieces of French 
money about the size of a half dollar. Then he 
took a new tennis ball and broke it, as a boy does 
an apple. All this the girls enjoyed very much, 


194 


Ruth Visits Margot 


PPffffPWIIWIWIIIWfW 

but they could not stay for the whole show, since 
they could not understand the talking, and it was 
their bed time, anyway. 

The next morning after breakfast, Private Ken¬ 
worthy asked the girls if they wanted to make the 
trip on the canal barge, as the boatman had 
suggested. 

“Oh, yes,” was the reply, “let’s do; it will be such 
fun!” 

So the three hurried down to the canal, leaving 
Bob on duty. Sure enough, the boat was still there. 
The woman was washing the breakfast dishes, and 
the man was just helping the tow-boy hitch the 
horse to the rope. The girls stepped onto the boat, 
and stood in the bow where they could see every¬ 
thing along the route. The men helped pull on 
the line until the barge was fairly started; then 
they jumped aboard. Now the big scow slid 
through the water easily. 

An awning was stretched above the little cabin, 
and camp-stools were placed under it. The woman 
worked at her knitting; her two little girls 
brought their dolls to show Margot and Ruth. The 
men tried to talk, but did not understand each 
other much. Two dogs ran back and forth on the 


195 


More Adventures 

deck, barking at everybody and everything they 
saw along the shore. When nothing else appeared, 
they barked at the horse. But they were wagging 
their little stubby tails all of the time, so nobody 
cared much how loudly they barked. 

On both sides of the canal men and women were 
working in the fields. Sometimes two or three 
horses were hitched to a plow or harrow, tandem 
fashion—that is, one in front of the other. Some¬ 
times a horse and a cow were hitched side by side. 
It did not matter, so long as the work was done. 
The drivers kept shouting “Allez, allez !”—which 
meant “Get up!”—but the teams never went any 
faster! 

After the boat had gone about three miles out 
of town, Private Kenworthy judged that he and 
the girls had gone far enough. The barge was 
stopped, and a plank was laid to the bank for them 
to go ashore on. He helped start the boat again 
and everybody shouted and waved good-bye. Then 
they walked back to Void, for a canal boat goes 
very slowly. 

The next day Private Kenworthy had to go to 
two other towns—Toul and Nancy—for medical 
supplies. He obtained permission to have the 


196 


Ruth Visits Margot 


driver go around by Bourmont to take the girls 
home. It was a long, long drive. 

Toul is a very old walled city. Parts of the high, 
thick wall are still standing, and parts of the old 
moat, or ditch around it, still exist. The three 
friends were sorry they could not stop and explore 
for the city looked interesting. The town of Nancy 
is beautiful, with many parks and fountains, but 
they were all in too great a hurry to stop. 

They arrived in Bourmont just in time to have 
an evening meal with Madame Pueelle. The driver 
and Private Ken worthy returned to Void the next 
day. Both girls were full of thanks to Ruth’s 
father for having given them the opportunity to 
see the prisoners’ camp. 


THE LAST DAYS OF RUTH’S VISIT 



Farewell to France 


Chapter 17 

KENWORTHY’S visit to France was 
almost over, and already the two girls were feel¬ 
ing a little unhappy at the prospect of parting. 
Still, they were to have one more adventure before 



197 














198 


Ruth Visits Margot 


that—they had Private Kenworthy’s promise to 
show them a much larger prison camp. 

During this summer of 1919—so Ruth’s father 
explained to the girls—the United States Govern¬ 
ment had decided to gather the prisoners-of-war 
into larger groups; and the camp at Is-sur-Tille, 
just a little north of Dijon in the Department of 
Cote d’Or, was chosen as one of the big gathering 
places, or concentration points. 

Before the War, Is-sur-Tille had been only a 
little village; but during the War it had one of the 
biggest camps in the American Service of Sup¬ 
plies. There were many thousands of American 
soldiers in France who were never near the fight¬ 
ing, for, of course, somebody must run the army 
railway trains to haul supplies; others must handle 
these supplies; others must bake bread, and do 
other necessary work. 

Is-sur-Tille was the largest American railway 
center in France all during the War. There were 
miles and miles and miles of tracks, with switch 
engines tooting and shunting cars about all day 
and night. Troop trains were going north; hos¬ 
pital trains were going south and west; whole 
trains of heavy coast-guard cannon going to the 


The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 


199 


front; ammunition was being carried, and food, 
food, food. 

Such was the history of Is-sur-Tille before the 
Armistice. After the Armistice, there were still 
hundreds of thousands of American soldiers in 
France who must be fed and clothed. Thousands 
of soldiers were traveling to and from the vaca- 
tional districts of Paris and places in southern 
France. Most of these men passed through Is-sur- 
Tille; many of them stayed over night, and had 
to be housed and fed. There were acres and acres 
and acres of great storage sheds, full of ammuni¬ 
tion, clothing, food, and other supplies that must 
be guarded. There were more acres of barracks 
for the officers and soldiers who did all this work. 

But by the middle of the summer of 1919 only a 
few thousand Americans were left in France, and 
the camp at Is-sur-Tille looked comparatively de¬ 
serted. Then suddenly the place took on new life; 
double barbed-wire fences were stretched around 
groups of barracks, and trains from every direc¬ 
tion hauled in ten thousand German prisoners and 
about two thousand guards. The Germans began 
to build new athletic fields and new theatres. Here 
and there one could see the uniforms of French, 


200 


Ruth Visits Margot 


Belgian, and Polish officers about camp; men who 
had been sent by their governments to purchase 
the American railway engines, cars, automobiles, 
and other supplies. Altogether, the camp seemed 
now to be almost as important as before. 

To this camp at Is-sur-Tille, Private Kenworthy 
had lately been transferred. Since going there he 
had had no time to visit his daughter and friends 
at Bourmont and the girls were missing him a 
great deal. Finally Madame Pucelle said she would 
take them to visit in Is-sur-Tille for a few days. 
Ruth wrote her father where to find them. 

The day that they were to arrive, he was delayed 
in leaving for town. When he arrived, he found 
two very happy girls awaiting him there. Madame 
Pucelle had not cared to go to the camp, and Ruth 
and Margot felt sure he had mistaken the date. 
Now the girls were ready for anything. 

“Well,” said he, “there isn’t much in this place 
that will interest you, I am afraid. However, we’ll 
walk around. Do you see those big buildings with 
the high smoke stacks, Margot?” 

“Yes.” 

“That’s our bakery,” he told her. “It’s probably 
the biggest in the world. They can make a million 


The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 


201 


pounds of bread in a day there. Almost all the 
bread that the American soldiers have eaten over 
here has been made in this bakery.” 

Margot and Ruth walked about camp, looking 
at the stockades and warehouses. They stopped 
in the stockade in which their German friends 
were living. Private Kenworthy borrowed a little 
round cap and a long-stemmed German pipe, 
which he held in his hand; then Bob Isben took his 
picture with the girls beside him, and a lot of 
German prisoners standing behind them. Ruth 
and Margot were much excited by having their 
pictures taken that way. 

Now Ruth’s father led them over to the hospital 
grounds, where they sat on a high bench to watch 
some of the American men playing tennis. Just 
then a French girl about eighteen years old came 
along, borrowed a racquet, and beat them all. The 
men said she was the best tennis player they had 
ever seen. Then the three friends walked back 
to town, where the girls had supper with him in a 
little restaurant. 

When they came back into camp, they stopped 
in the “Y Club,” one of the welfare clubs run for 
the soldiers by the Y. M. C. A. A cheerful log fire 


202 Ruth Visits Margot 



was crackling in the big stone fireplace. In a 
semicircle in front of the fire sat a dozen of the 
men, squatting tailor-fashion on the floor. In the 
middle of the group sat two “Y” girls, toasting 
marshmallows on long-handled forks, and passing 
them to the soldiers in turn. Two other men were 
serving hot chocolate from the little kitchen. 

The “Y” girls saw Private Kenworthy and called 
to him to bring his friends and join the group. 
Everyone made the children welcome, and fed 
them marshmallows and chocolate until they said 
they had enough. Later, there was to be a Charlie 
Chaplin picture at the other Y. M. C. A. hut, and 
Margot and Ruth left in time to see this. 

Madame Pucelle and the girls stayed two or 
three days more in Is-sur-Tille. Ruth’s father had 
not much work now, and spent most of the time 
with the girls. He did not expect to be in France 
much longer, and Margot wanted to be with him 
as much as possible. 

* * * * 

The next time Ruth and Margot saw Private 
Kenworthy he was at Brest, a big fortified seaport 
on the west coast of France. He had sent Madame 
Pucelle a telegram on the day when his company 


The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 


203 


started toward the coast. Madame Pucelle got the 
two girls ready, and the three caught a train that 
very day. Ruth was to return to the United States 
on the ship with her father. 

When Margot and her mother arrived in Brest, 
with Ruth, they left their bags at a hotel, called a 
cab, and directed the driver to take them to the 
American camp. This camp was on the top of a 
hill, outside of town, but the little taxicab finally 
chugged to the top. Then began a long search for 
Private Kenworthy. 

In the winter and spring, Brest is one of the 
muddiest places in France. But now the mud had 
become hard and cracked. All through the camp 
were ditches on both sides of the streets, and for 
sidewalks the camp had ladder-like strips of 
boards that looked like picket fences laid flat on 
the ground. They were called “duck-boards,” and 
were put down to keep the men from sinking into 
the mud during the wet season. 

It was Margot who first caught sight of Ruth’s 
father and called to him. He came running to the 
cab. Madame Pucelle asked him to come to their 
hotel for lunch and dinner. How glad Ruth was 
to see her father again! 


Ruth Visits Margot 


204 



And as they returned to their hotel, they looked 
eagerly at the sights along the way. Brest is a 
busy seaport of about seventy-five thousand peo¬ 
ple. The chief industries are shipping and ship¬ 
building. There are also big gun foundries and 
workshops. France has naval schools at Brest, 
and there are usually several training ships in the 
harbor, on which French boys learn to be sailors. 
The most interesting building in Brest is an old 
seven-towered castle, part of which is supposed 
to have been built in the twelfth century. 

That evening was the last on which the friends 
would be together, so they decided to celebrate 
the occasion by having a very special farewell din¬ 
ner party. Although Margot and Ruth chatted 
and laughed almost continually, they were both 
feeling sad underneath at the parting that must 
come the next day. 

There was, however, much to talk about. Margot 
recalled many of their happy experiences to¬ 
gether, living each one over again, and laughing 
with tears in her eyes at some of the funny things 
they had seen. She mentioned the comical flop¬ 
eared donkeys, and reminded Ruth of how the 
soldier had fallen from the back of one of them. 


The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 


205 


Ruth spoke of their pleasant boat trips, their long 
hikes on the Mediterranean coast, the beautiful 
gardens and parks of Paris, and the wonderful 
art galleries there. 

“Oh, I love France!” she exclaimed. “But I know 
you would love America, Margot. How I wish you 
could visit our country! Daddy, do tell them some 
of the things they would see over there.” 

So he described some American wonders—Yel¬ 
lowstone National Park, Niagara Falls, Yosemite, 
and the wonderful desert region of the great 
Southwest—and ended by turning to Madame 
Pucelle. “I do hope,” he said, “that some day you 
and Margot will be able to come over to our coun¬ 
try, Madame. There would be a warm welcome 
for you at our home, as you know.” 

She shook her head doubtfully. “Not for a long 
time, I fear, Monsieur Kenworthy. We French will 
be poor for many years now—too poor to think 
much about traveling. Still, one may always hope, 
of course.” 

Ruth’s father was on hand bright and early the 
next morning, for there was much to do before 
their ship would sail at noon. They all went down 
to the harbor together. He put Ruth in the charge 


206 Ruth Visits Margot 



of an army officer’s wife, who promised to make 
the girl comfortable in her cabin stateroom. After 
making sure Ruth was well taken care of, he left 
hurriedly, for he must find his company and go 
aboard with them. 

Finally, all the soldiers had marched aboard the 
big vessel. There was a great blowing of whistles 
and pulling ashore of gang planks. The huge 
ropes were cast off, then with much puffing and 
snorting two little tug-boats nosed the great ship 
America out of the harbor, guiding her carefully 
between the numerous battleships, cruisers, tor¬ 
pedo boats, submarines, and other transports— 
into the open sea at last! 

Margot and her mother stood on the dock wav¬ 
ing handkerchiefs as long as they could see their 
departing friends. Then they stood quietly watch¬ 
ing the ship while the four big smoke-stacks slowly 
dropped below the horizon in the distance. 

Margot wiped a tear from the corner of each eye 
and looked up at her mother with an effort to smile. 

“Mother,” she said, slowly, “I never knew what 
real friendship means—not until I met M’sieur 
Kenworthy and Ruth. Do you know, I used to think 
foreigners were different from us. I never thought 


The Last Days of Ruth’s Visit 207 

of them as being the same as we are. And now- 
well, I know now that oceans or great distances 
make no difference. Isn’t it wonderful to realize 
that Ruth will be thinking of me, although she is 
thousands of miles away? And always I shall be 
thinking of her—waiting for the day when 
perhaps you and I may be able to visit her in 
America.” 

Madame Pucelle put an arm around Margot’s 
shoulders. “I am glad to hear you say that, dear,” 
she approved. “Friendship does come from under¬ 
standing one another. Race or country should be 
no barrier. And some day—when greater under¬ 
standing comes—the whole world will be friends 
and neighbors.” 


THE END 


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